Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, on his new appointment. As he did such an amazing job as Minister of State with responsibility for sport, I was thinking about whether I would be in touch with him as much as I used to be. Then I saw that he was taking on the National Driver Licence Service, NDLS, the Road Safety Authority, RSA and driving tests and I realised I was going to be in touch just as much. I have no worries about it. Obviously, he took up the role just before Christmas but this is still January so I do not expect him to have the full ins and outs and the full details of the issues happening in those areas. At the same time I trust that he would have a fair idea of what has been happening.

I referenced in the Topical Issue specifically Skibbereen but there is an issue nationwide in regard to the time it is taking for young people in particular to sit the test. I single out young people because they are the most impacted by this. The time it is taking between finishing driving lessons and getting an actual test is an issue people coming into my office raise. A young lady from Ballinascarthy who finished her lessons came in to see me. She did everything right. She applied for the test on 7 November. She was told at that stage that she would be invited to book an actual test at the end of February or start of March, only to be told days later that it would be the first week of May before she would be actually invited to book, at which point there would be another four weeks before she would actually get the test. This is happening throughout the country. It is certainly happening throughout west Cork. What I am pleading with the Minister of State for today is to see that the resources and investment are put into that whole area of testing so that we can expedite this in order that primarily young people are not waiting such lengths of time.

A young man from Rosscarbery had an almost identical issue. He looked to book a driving test in November only to be told that it would be at least the start of May until he could be invited to book a test. This is happening wholescale. It is happening nationally but there is actually a specific issue in Skibbereen where there were two full-time testers in the test centre, but now it is down to one. Clearly, to my mind it seems obvious that is having an impact on the ground here.

Young people are eager to get driving and to have that independence. We are all aware of that and familiar with it. However there is more than that. When you let that lengthy period lapse between your last lesson and your test that could be a seven-month period. The advice is to have further lessons in the interim. In the case of that young woman from Ballinscarthy, that will cost her €700. That €700 is very hard to come by when you are a leaving certificate student. That is another thing to factor in. There are other challenges, such as travelling to work, particularly in parts of Ireland that are not well served and connected by public transport. In that instance, that sixth-year student is coming up to exam time and requires grinds in different subjects. Young people need that independence instead of always relying on their parents. That is just a brief example of what is happening on the ground.

As I said, the Minister of State is new to this role. I have massive faith in him because of how well he performed and what he has done especially for west Cork clubs in terms of funding for sports clubs and sports facilities. I have faith he will be able to turn this around.

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