Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister of State for facilitating this debate. I have heard him debating the topic in the Dáil previously and I appreciate he gets the severity of the problem. It is difficult to understand how we are still in this position. Over two years ago, in my previous role as councillor, I had a motion on delays in driving tests. At the time I got a response from the RSA which indicated recruitment was taking place and it was working hard to address the issue. Unfortunately, it has got worse rather than better. The impact it has on people's lives has been outlined. It disproportionately impacts young people because they are, by and large, the people seeking a driving test. Many of them do not have access to public transport so it is putting their lives on hold in terms of plans for work, travel, personal endeavours and so on. People send us emails outlining their circumstances and the reasons they desperately need a driving test for health, personal or family reasons. I know the Minister of State understands this and is doing everything he can. I welcome the initiatives that have been undertaken: the push for recruitment, the full-time contracts and the overtime. We have to look at shorter term solutions. There has to be a reset and we have to clear the delays currently in the system so people have a reasonable waiting time. I understand ten weeks is the objective of the RSA.

The application process needs to be looked at. It is quite cumbersome. I have had several contacts from people saying they have received numerous invitations to try to get a slot but when they look for one, there is none available. That can be very frustrating. I ask the Minister of State to continue trying to improve the situation. As well as plans for recruitment and so on, we have to look at short-term measures to get the reset in place and clear the huge backlog.

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