Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is a real problem, particularly for young people in rural parts of County Clare. A large number of people get in touch with me and I subsequently get in touch with the RSA. Some have been waiting for six months to get a test and it is just not good enough. The target timeframe is ten weeks but the figures show that people are waiting 19 weeks to get an invitation. I can give many examples of where a test date is nearly due and then the appointment is put back by another month or two. It is not good enough.

The Minister of State said that the RSA is making every effort, but what effort is it making because this situation is getting worse? This issue stems back to the fact that last year a cohort of 32 trained driver instructors who were employed on a temporary basis were not made permanent. We have a growing population and we have only 130 testers now.

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