Peter Roche (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber because this discussion is timely in view of the fact that so many of us have been bombarded by constituents. I support all of the contributions made so far. A total of 80,000 people nationally are waiting for tests. That is quite a substantial number, consisting of young people, students, and people wanting to get access to education or employment. Not being able to avail of a test places a restriction and real burden on people.

In recent times, there have been targeted advertisements on social media encouraging people to travel abroad to sit their driving tests. Regardless of whether this is a legal or viable pathway forward, it speaks volumes about the level of frustration people are feeling. We have to be honest. We should not be expecting people to travel considerable distances to avail of a driving test. The backlog needs to be tackled head on. I applaud the Minister of State for saying that he will do just that. We need additional testers, extended testing hours and a properly resourced plan from the RSA to bring the numbers down quickly.

In the meantime, we cannot ignore the alternative, which is public transport. Ever morning in my constituency, we see students and workers heading into Galway city shoulder to shoulder in a two-carriage train service at maximum capacity. This should not be the case and we need to work with Irish Rail to improve capacity, particularly on morning services.

We all know there is an issue with delays but it would be fundamentally wrong to blame Covid-19 for all of these ills. Resources are the biggest issue we have. In that regard, I would ask the RSA to do what the Minister of State has suggested, that being, to improve capacity and turnaround times and ensure that the people who are waiting for far too long can avail of a driving test so they can get that first job.

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