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

I thank the Deputies concerned for tabling this motion on the national driver licence service, NDLS. The Government will not be opposing the motion.

At the outset I would like to clarify that the NDLS front offices across the nation are open to the public. The only change since the new contract came into effect in June 2021 is that there is no longer an option to attend at an office without a prior appointment. Appointments can be may online or by telephone. A public services card, PSC, is not required to book an appointment.

The NDLS, which processes applications for and issues driving licences and learner permits, is the statutory responsibility of the Road Safety Authority, RSA. The service is provided to the RSA under contract. The NDLS front office service commenced in 2013 as a non-appointment service. An appointment service was subsequently provided to manage queues. Under this, people with an appointment had preference and attendance without an appointment was facilitated if time permitted.

The contracted service in place since 2013 ended in 2021 and a replacement NDLS front office service contract was procured. The procurement process for the new contract began in January 2020. It was not intended that the new contract, which took effect in June 2021, would offer a non-appointment option. This decision was made based on experience with the previous contract that managing a non-appointment element was difficult. RSA market analysis, ahead of procurement of the current service contract, showed that more bids and better value for money would be attainable for an appointment-only service. Such a service gives certainty to customers and prevents overcrowding, queueing and long waits. The non­appointment service had generated complaints from members of the public due to waiting times and delays. It also allows the provider to manage resourcing of the service because demand is predictable rather than having peaks and troughs during the day.

It should be noted that the procurement process did not prohibit tenderers from offering a non­appointment service. Four bids were received, each of a high standard. Following assessment under the published assessment criteria, the tender was awarded to the incumbent, SGS Ireland Limited, a Swiss company that has been active in Ireland for over 40 years, operates over 34 offices nationwide, and provides extensive services across a range of sectors. The contract has a term of two operational years from June 2021 to June 2023, with possible extensions to June 2025. An Post tendered for the contract but was unsuccessful. The procurement process and contract were totally compliant with EU and national law.

The requirements for the new contract differ from the predecessor as demand for the front office service is declining with the growth in the NDLS online service. The ability of companies to manage and adapt staffing requirements was an important element of the current contract. The decision to move to an appointment-only service was supported by the online licence renewal and application service, which accounts for over 40% of total applications, and the option for older customers to apply by post. The change was communicated to the public on the NDLS website and in renewal reminder notices. The existing service had moved to an appointment-only system from June 2020 because of Covid-19 restrictions before the new service began in June 2021. Therefore, an appointment-only service was in place one year before the new NDLS front office contract commenced. The current contract has virtually the same capacity and opening hours as the previous contract. It was expected that the NDLS front office capacity would be reducing in the lifetime of the new contract as the take up of the online service increases. In practice, the centres are now catering for more applications than originally forecasted for this time due to the effect of the licence and learner permit extensions. The effects of the extensions will apply until September of this year.

The same network of 34 permanent offices has been retained from the old to the new contract. The only reductions are two satellite centres which were open one day per week in Belmullet and Clifden. Approximately 20 to 30 appointments per week were catered for between both of these centres. These have not been retained due to the provision of an online service. Any significant change to the current contract would involve a contractual change and have commercial implications for the service. It is the RSA's opinion that the introduction of a non-appointment service would in fact diminish the quality of the service to the public.

An applicant is required to present photographic ID and evidence of Personal Public Service, PPS, number, address and residency entitlement when applying for a licence. Applications may be made in person at a NDLS office, where the required documents are examined and a face-to-face verification is made. A PSC is not required for an NDLS application made in an NDLS office. It may be used to establish identity but it is not mandatory and an applicant may use one of several options. For online applications, the same information is required but verifying a person's identity is more difficult online. A MyGovlD account, which requires a PSC, satisfies this requirement. Legal proceedings, in which the Department of Social Protection appealed an enforcement notice from the Data Protection Commission, DPC, on processing of personal data for PSCs, were resolved in December 2021. The agreement reached acknowledged that other public bodies listed in social welfare legislation, that is "specified bodies", may use the PSC as a means of verifying the identity of the people they deal with, provided that they also accept other methods of authenticating identity. The agreement also acknowledges and accepts that the Department of Social Protection and other specified bodies can continue to use MyGovlD as the sole means of authenticating identity for the purpose of accessing online services, provided that an alternative service channel is made available. The Road Safety Authority is a specified body for the use of a PSC under the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended by the Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2009. Applicants who do not have a PSC may apply for or renew a licence in person at an NDLS office.

Payment at the NDLS offices can be made by credit card, debit card, Google Pay, Apple Pay or Payzone vouchers. Payzone vouchers can be purchased from retailers in towns and villages nationwide. Card payment is significantly the most predominant means of payment. The NDLS allows an accompanying person make card payments for customers who do not have cards themselves. The decision was made not to accept cash after a market sounding exercise where only one potential bidder advocated accepting cash payments. The decision was made after evaluating security, administration and value for money factors.

As I mentioned earlier, appointments to attend at a NDLS front office can be made by telephone as well as online. Currently, 29,000 appointment slots are free out of 77,000 slots available for booking across a six week period. There is currently a high renewal demand for driving licences and learner permits due to the extensions put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic coming to an end. The RSA acknowledges the service provided to customers in the phone booking service in this period has been less than adequate. I have heard the concerns of Deputies in that regard today. At a minimum, three full­time agents are necessary to provide the required level of service on the booking line. The service provider is working to ensure that these resources are available daily and are committing extra personnel to training to ensure that the three full-time staff members are assisted and supported through busy periods. The RSA has been assured that once training is completed this week, the service to the public will be greatly improved. It should be noted that where people are late for an appointment, they cannot always be accommodated.

Where possible, however, every effort is made to accommodate them.

No permanent NDLS offices have been closed. The services provided in Belmullet and Clifden were temporary and were set up to operated in hotels in those towns one day a week. Approximately 20 to 30 appointments per week were catered for between the two. The feedback from the market analysis conducted was that these two centres were not required in order to provide a strong service to the public. The provision of these temporary services was not included within the successful SGS proposal in response to the tender process.

Some NDLS front offices have had to close on some days or to offer a reduced service in the past few months because of absences due to Covid-19 pressures. The RSA is working to restore the service, with all centres open for the full contracted hours as soon as possible.

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