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

I thank all the Deputies for raising this important matter. Delivery of the driving test and the driver theory test, DTT, service are the statutory responsibility of the RSA and I have no power to intervene in individual cases.

The gradual reopening of in-person driver theory test centres commenced on 8 June. The SRA reopened test centres and introduced capacity to increase the number of tests from an average of 15,000 tests in normal pre-Covid times to 25,000 tests monthly to tackle the backlog and shorten waiting times. The test centres have extensive Covid-19 measures in place to protect both customers and staff and to ensure the safe delivery of the service. The Department is working to increase capacity to 50,000 tests per month over time, if public health guidance permits. The service provider has sourced an additional 40 temporary team members to support the expected increase in capacity to 50,000 in-person test appointments. A pilot online driver theory test has been running for truck and bus categories and has been extended to include car and motorbike tests. The new offering saw 4,000 theory tests available for all categories of vehicles during June. The RSA has increased this by a further 6,000, bringing the total to 10,000 online tests that will be conducted during July. Tests are on a first-come, first-served basis with the new online service becoming more widely available later in the year.

The current number of confirmed bookings on the system is 116,024 scheduled tests. During the five weeks up to 5 July, 37,303 theory tests were scheduled to take place, 28,945 tests were taken and, of those, 22,603 were passed. The number of people who failed to pass was 6,342. It is clear that the service is back up and running.

However, I am concerned at the number of applicants who do not show up for their test. The no-show figure is notable at 5,351. It is hugely disappointing that nearly 15% of candidates for the theory test are no-shows on the day, especially when there has been such high demand for the service.

This puts an unnecessary strain on the service and further complicates matters for the many people awaiting a test and who will ultimately be delayed as a result. I know the Road Safety Authority, RSA, is concerned about this too and I understand it is looking at communications and reminders in order to reduce this number.

Due to the suspension of driving testing services in the initial pandemic response, along with the health protocols required since the resumption of services, a significant backlog has developed. Driving tests for essential workers continue to be a priority for the driving testing service. However, in line with the gradual reopening of services, driving tests for all those who are eligible to take the test and have been waiting longest have recommenced in a limited fashion since the end of May. The further reopening of driving testing services will be the subject of discussions between the Department of Transport and the RSA in the coming weeks.

The RSA driver testers are undertaking driving tests in extremely difficult conditions in an enclosed space where physical distancing is very difficult. They are using vehicles provided by the test candidates, which are not controllable environments. An additional 40 temporary testers were recruited in the second quarter of the year and 18 of the new recruits have completed training and been live testing since the week commencing 7 June. There are 21 more who have successfully completed training and began live testing yesterday, 12 July. Sanction was recently received for a further 40 temporary testers.

See this speech in context