Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)

I thank the Minister of State for his statement. The crisis in driver test waiting times is disproportionately affecting rural constituents and people in towns such as Youghal, where public transport links are extremely poor. The rural bus link improvements that, in fairness, we saw in some parts of the country during the previous term of Government unfortunately did not reach villages such as Whitegate, Ballycotton, Cloyne, Clonnagh and Mogeely.

The housing crisis has meant that many young people are unable to afford student accommodation and must live at home. They are, therefore, reliant on a car. We know that a large proportion of people do not pass the test on the first attempt and, therefore, long waits have a cumulative effect on them.

I have been contacted by numerous people in my constituency of Cork East whose working lives and college lives have been seriously disrupted as they await tests. One constituent who got in touch in recent weeks told me that her daughter had been awaiting a test since November 2024 and her projected test date would be in August 2025. She lives in a part of rural north Cork from where it is not possible to travel to work by public transport.

A constituent from Fermoy contacted me recently to say that a relative's driving test in Mallow was cancelled for the second time in two weeks with less than 12 hours' notice. My constituent had to book off two days of annual leave to drive her relative to the test.

There has been recent correspondence from the Minister of State's Department outlining the recruitment drive by the RSA, the freeing up of unused test slots and the availability of overtime for test drivers. The Minister of State also spoke about permanent contracts. All of that is welcome, but as my colleague, Deputy Whitmore, pointed out, the recruitment process is far too excessive. We need a greater sense of urgency from the Department to address the issue.

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