Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The backlog of applicants for the driver theory test has been raised by many Deputies in recent weeks and months. The answer given has been that the test would be going online, and I was delighted to see that it did go online on the Road Safety Authority, RSA, website yesterday. Several constituents have contacted me about this issue to say that when they attempted to register for the test that the results keep showing no availability. Is the system operational yet, or is this a glitch? I tried it myself and it did not work. The response that kept coming up was that there was no availability for any dates in May, June or July. Many young people are seeking to sit the driver theory test to allow them to get a job at a local farm, perhaps driving a tractor, during the summer. They cannot do that without having sat the test first. How many people will be accommodated via this online method? If the backlog cannot be cleared in a timely fashion, could a temporary W category licence be allocated to those young people?

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