Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise the issue of driving test waiting times. Nationally, the average waiting time is back up to 12 weeks. Last year, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, who is present, instructed the RSA to bring the average times down to ten weeks.

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We need to bring them down and we need to keep them down. The policy should be to stabilise and sustain them at ten weeks. The centre with the second highest waiting time in the country is that at Mulhuddart. This waiting time has consistently been one of the highest and now stands at 20 weeks. That is double the national average. Our waiting times have stayed consistently high since the autumn. A woman who contacted my office this morning said that it took her eight months to get her first driving test. She now has to repeat the test and that will take an additional six months because the lists have now been put together and there is no longer a shorter waiting time for repeat tests. I am looking for an updated plan that targets measures such as longer opening hours and more testers at the centres that need increased capacity.

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