Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Currently, if I apply for a driver test in my county of Wexford, I will get an invitation date for a test on 25 August 2025. I would then have to wait another three to five weeks after that for my actual test date. As of 21 January 2025, the number of applications in County Wexford was 5,643. The volume per centre is as follows: Gorey, 2,723 and Wexford, 2,920. The estimated waiting times for an invitation date in each centre is 20 weeks and 25 weeks, respectively. We can add another three to five weeks onto that for the test date.

The national figure indicates that there are 72,000 people awaiting a driver test.

In many rural parts of Wexford, people waiting on the driving test depend completely on family and friends to bring them to their place of employment or education, as public transport is not an option or, in most cases, not available. I will give two examples from my constituency of the burden this incompetence is causing thousands of young people and their families. I know a father of two men in their early 20s who are both working and have both been waiting months on end for a driving test. This man had to get up at 5.30 a.m. every day to bring his two sons to work. The sons worked in different places, which meant a round trip of approximately 60 km for the man. He then had to turn around, go to work and repeat the journey in the evening. Another man, who is self-employed, had to bring his daughter to work in a local village shop about 20 km away. Again, this meant an early start in the morning and a return trip in the evening. The result was that the girl had to give up her job as her father's work took him miles away in the opposite direction. This must surely indicate to the Minister that the system is not fit for purpose and is failing. If this were any other business, it would be put through a root-and-branch reform, especially when we consider that Exchequer funding is expected to be in the region of almost €1 million this year. According to the Government's Revised Estimates, the RSA's income is anticipated to reach almost €90 million. People are paying for a good service and therefore, it is reasonable to expect a top quality service in return. However, this is certainly not the case when we see the huge backlogs.

The people of Wexford are disappointed by the recent allocation for road maintenance and road funding of €23,310,000. This is down almost €150,000 on last year. This is despite the fact that a comprehensive engineering report stated that one third of the roads need full reconstruction, estimated to cost in the region of €190 million. Once again, Wexford has been short-changed.

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