Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We will be supporting this motion. I thank the Rural Independent Group for tabling it. Driver testing delays are affecting people all over the country. I am sure every Deputy from every constituency, rural and urban, has been contacted by people about huge delays and the huge difficulties faced by family members in getting tests.

We had the representatives of the RSA and various agencies before the transport committee regarding this matter, and they gave us all sorts of assurances that work was being done to recruit more testers and deal with the backlog. The reality is that the backlog still exists. People from various parts of the country are being told they will have to wait up to six months, and sometimes even longer, to get a driving test. The Minister of State has to accept that this is totally inappropriate and must not continue.

As we know, more and more young people are seeking to pass the driver test. As a father of four between the ages of 24 and 19, I know how important it is for them to get a driving test. Particularly for people who live in rural areas, there are no public transport options, as has been laid out by others. The public transport simply does not exist. I have two children going to college in Limerick. If they want to take public transport there, they have to get a train to Dublin and then to Limerick. The western rail corridor would be very useful in addressing this. I must raise this in respect of the Minister of State's responsibilities. If my children want to get a bus, they have to go all the way to Athlone to get it. There are major connectivity issues in many parts of rural Ireland. Learning to drive and being able to drive do wonders for the confidence of young people and really set them apart. Driving is vital if they are to advance in life.

The reality is that there are more and more young people looking for driver tests. There are many people who, on returning to the country after having left for various reasons, discover their old licence is no longer valid. They have to look for a new licence and go through the whole system again. There are many people coming here from other countries to work, live and be part of our community and they too have to apply to get driving licences. Therefore, there will be an increasing amount of pressure on the system. While we need to see more driver testers recruited, we possibly need to see more test centres opened. The Minister of State needs to consider that.

On the broader issues raised regarding road safety, I accept that we have a huge problem. Last weekend, five people died tragically on our roads. The previous weekend, five people died on our roads. This is a huge and increasing problem, with tragedy facing so many people's lives in the form of death and critical injuries. While the Government has a responsibility, every road user must take personal responsibility. We are aware of that but the critical part of the Government's responsibility is to make sure the roads people are using are roadworthy. I was very disappointed when I looked at the budget last week and the Estimates. I believe it is in programme C that we see road safety measures funding decreased by €150 million, or 10%. It is clearly there. We need to accept that while the Government says it is going to invest in roads and road safety, it has decreased the amount for road safety in the budget.

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