Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. My understanding is that the 36 figure refers to the number of extra driver testers who will be in place. I know how concerned many constituents are about this and while the service is limited during level 5 restrictions, the Road Safety Authority is examining ways of increasing the number of tests within the health constraints, with an eye on resuming the wider testing level after level 5. It is working in close consultation with the Department on the matter. This includes increasing the number of testing staff to help reduce the backlog over time.

To clarify, the Department has given approval to the Road Safety Authority to retain the 18 driver testers on temporary contracts due to expire in October and November and to rehire the further 18 temporary testers whose contracts expired in May. They will be additional. This will help to increase the testing capacity. However, it is important to stress there are many issues impacting on the delivery of the service, which relate to throughput in the centres in light of the restrictions rather than the availability of staff alone. There are a number of health protocols that need to be adhered to with regard to the testing system.

The Road Safety Authority is also looking at a number of other measures, including whether the number of tests a driver tester can perform each day can be increased within the current health constraints. Due to the additional hygiene and sanitation procedures that are now absolutely necessary, each testing slot takes a lot longer to complete. As a result, the number of tests a tester can safely conduct per day was reduced from eight to five when the service reopened. Following its experience of managing the tests under Covid restrictions, this was increased to six in mid-September. At present, the Road Safety Authority is prioritising driver testing for essential workers and has set up a dedicated email which may be of assistance. The email address is urgentdrivingtest@rsa.ie and applicants can request to be given priority and supply supporting documentation. These requests are prioritised during the scheduling process, with cancellation slots being offered where possible.

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