Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)

The last time we discussed driving test wait times was in February as part of a Sinn Féin motion. At that time, the wait time in Wicklow was 26 weeks. It is now 33 weeks so the situation has got unusually worse.

In Meath, the wait time is now a staggering 43 weeks. According to CSO data, wait times have grown in nearly every county. The situation is going backwards, unfortunately. It is clear there is a systemic problem. There are issues with the RSA and I welcome the fact that there will be a review of that entity. I also welcome the fact that the Minister of State is taking this seriously and gave the RSA a two-week deadline to come up with solutions. It would, unfortunately, appear that he has been sold a pup. In the solutions in the report he has been given by the RSA, I see nothing that will make the difference we need. It talks about hurrying up the recruitment process. Last September, the Government sanctioned the recruitment of 70 new testers. Are any of them in place? The RSA is just starting recruitment. That recruitment process is taking an incredibly long time This was also mentioned in February. It is a long time for any recruitment process.

The other thing that is noticeable to me is that I do not know what the salaries are for those jobs but they are fixed-term contracts. Is that not the case? Are they not fixed-term contracts for less than two years? The Minister of State is shaking his head. Are they full-time jobs? They are. Are there going to be any fixed-term contracts? That was a part of the problem. Those who were recruited were on fixed-term contracts for 18 months. Of course, that makes it difficult to provide job security.

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