Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)

I have a deep sense of frustration with the testing system in the country, particularly in Nenagh. I feel the need to vocalise the frustrations particularly of young people who regularly contact me in my constituency office. Nenagh has one of the lowest pass rates, if not the lowest, in the country. It is well below 40% while the national average appears to be somewhere just about 50% at the moment. Waiting times are excessive and are increasing. It is deeply frustrating for young people in a rural area like the constituency I represent or the constituency the Minister of State represents to put their names forward only to be told to sit back for a few months awaiting an invitation to apply. When they get the invitation to get their date, they have to wait a number of months more. People aged 17, 18 or 19 in a rural area want that bit of independence. They may have a summer job or a part-time job but cannot get to that because they cannot get their test in time. They are doing everything right, doing their lessons and meeting all of the requirements but then they are sitting and waiting. I am trying to get across that sense of frustration today because that sense of frustration has been brought to me so regularly in my constituency office.

I also have an issue with tests that do not go ahead for one reason or another, such as a problem with the tax disc or a problem with the lights. I accept that the car needs to be roadworthy and safe, which is fair enough. However, what happens to that slot when we have such a backlog in Nenagh? It does not get filled. The driver tester has to go back in and wait for the next person to come. Cancellation slots and priority slots are very difficult to get, and it is really frustrating for young people waiting for that.

Another example relates to apprentices. A number of people of a younger age are mad to start an apprenticeship. We need them to start their apprenticeships and yet often it is being held up. It is hard to get priority from the RSA to get their test dates moved forward or get them into a cancellation slot.

I welcome the chance to raise this here today because it is very important, particularly to the young people I represent, that those concerns are heard and addressed. We need more testers and we need them rapidly. We need to investigate why some centres like Nenagh have such an appalling fail rate compared with others. I hope those concerns will be taken on board today and can be brought back to Government.

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