Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Driver test waiting times have become a major issue across the country. From speaking to people in different parts of the country we know there are huge differences depending on ones location. The Government has itself acknowledged since last year the need for significant restructuring of the RSA and its €90 million budget but there is a lot of work to be done. There are 72,000 learner drivers awaiting a test as of February this year. This is a rise of 10,000 over the last three months alone.

The Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien, referred to a 22-week wait for a test, which last April was 15 weeks. We need a lot done. We need the implementation of the service level agreement to ten weeks as set out under section 28 the Road Safety Authority Act, with consequences if they cannot deliver, as others have said. We need more driver testers, with permanent positions especially, and we need the promised reorganisation of the RSA to address the backlog in driver tests, including its own mandate, resourcing and programme of work. We need to address the shortfall in the driver test centres across the country. We need more of them and spread more evenly. We need to instruct the OPW and the RSA to urgently identify the suitable sites to fill the gaps.

I welcome that one can no longer keep applying for a test and driving on the learner permit indefinitely. Now a person can renew his or her learner permit twice and after that he or she must apply for a driver test or have unsuccessfully taken the test in the previous two years. This is all very welcome but more needs to be done.

I will focus now on what others have said about transport. In rural areas - but also in urban areas - when people are trying to get to college or to work the public transport system not fit for purpose a lot of the time. As someone with a green background I would like to be able to say that yes we have the public transport system that delivers, but we know that BusConnects is not fit for purpose. We need to have alternatives for people. We need to have measures that would encourage people to be able to get get their driver permit as early as possible.

In my remaining seconds I wish to make a point about novice drivers. Once a person has got their test it does not end there. My rural colleagues have mentioned anecdotally that roads are the issue. In urban areas with good roads I have seen people with N plates speed and break the traffic lights. They think that now they have their test they can do whatever they like. Maybe we need refresher courses and tie that into the insurance costs.

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