Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

As this is my first opportunity to speak, I want to take a moment to mark the sad death of Garda Kevin Flatley and extend my deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues in An Garda Síochána, including those who knew him in O'Dwyer's GAA club in Balbriggan and St. Finian's GAA club in Newcastle.

As other Deputies have done, I will begin by acknowledging that waiting times for tests are far in excess of what is acceptable and it must be a priority, as has been set out by the Government and other Deputies, to reduce these waiting times to ten weeks as soon as possible. As have other Deputies, I have been inundated with contacts from constituents who are justifiably angry about the long wait for driver test appointments. This impacts on their personal and professional welfare. Notwithstanding the need to expedite the ability to exchange driver licences, some anecdotal evidence suggests people are going to other European countries, such as Georgia, to do their tests because the waiting times are much lower. This completely legal process sees the applicant acquire their licence in Georgia and then return to Ireland to exchange it for an Irish one a week or two afterwards. I am not casting aspersions on the Georgian testing system but I wonder whether it is the best way to teach learner drivers and embed a learner culture and learner behaviour. In Georgia people are allowed to overtake on roundabouts and they drive on the other side of the road. This needs to be taken into account in terms of how we encourage good driver behaviour on our roads for people who are starting out for the first time.

The issue calls into question the ability of the RSA to manage the system. Many constituents come to me to ask why it takes so many different stages to apply for driver test in this country. They ask why we cannot have a more streamlined approach. This is important because driver behaviour is a key determinant for road safety for all road users, not only motorists but also pedestrians and cyclists. An effective and efficient testing system is key to improving driver behaviour.

For people in my constituency, the Tallaght test centre has a wait period of more than 43 weeks, 20 weeks longer than it was at this point last year. This is too long and not acceptable, especially for those who need to access a driver licence for professional and personal opportunities. In recent weeks, the Government announced a second test centre in Tallaght, which will assist with the backlog. It is important this gets up and running as soon as possible. I acknowledge the steps that have been taken, such as the introduction of Saturday testing, additional morning and evening slots and the priority given to emergency services.

The big fear I have is that people perceiving the testing system to have so many delays in it will increase the number of no-shows, further compounding the issue we have, with more delays being clogged into the system. I know the Minister of State is aware of this but I encourage him to treat this as a priority in terms of the immediate need to deal with the backlog and to address the fact the RSA needs to be put in a position where it manages the system better.

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