Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Before speaking on my issue, I wish to compliment the two previous speakers. I concur with the sentiments they expressed. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting the issue I raise today, the implementation of the new driver licence service. I support the concept of the introduction of a credit-card-type licence, which is long overdue, particularly when we consider Irish drivers going abroad and international recognition of the licence. None the less, I am disappointed with some of the feedback I have received. I acknowledge the presence of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport.

In my area we are in a process of amalgamation of two local authorities, Limerick City Council and Limerick County Council, which between them had three motor tax offices, two of which could issue driving licences. One of those is gone. With regard to geography, some of the areas I represent are more than 60 km from the new centre in Limerick city. In the last week I have received evidence from the rural part of the constituency in particular that there were delays of up to four and a half hours at the Limerick centre. The Department and the Road Safety Authority might argue there are teething issues with the introduction of the new system, as there always are.

One can consider the midlands, where there are centres in Longford, Carrick-on-Shannon, Mullingar, Roscommon and Tullamore. Mullingar is 41 km from Tullamore and Longford is 30 km from Roscommon, 45 km from Mullingar and 36 km from Carrick-on-Shannon. Drumcolliher in my constituency is 69 km from Tralee and 50 km from Limerick, and Limerick is 102 km from Tralee. That distance traverses open spaces containing rural dwellers who find it difficult to access centres as currently proposed in both Limerick and Tralee. The other option is Cork city, which is even further away.

The centres are in urban areas with heavy footfall, but for people in rural constituencies and those who are not used to driving into cities such as Limerick, with the Parkway shopping centre, it is proving difficult to get to them. We know that suggestions were made to people in advance of the transition to the credit-card-type licence to hold off from applying for the licence. Others applied but did not have a licence issued under the last system. Those two categories of person are now in limbo, and it appears that large groups of people are potentially unlicensed.

There should be a number of actions. The resources available in existing centres should be examined in conjunction with the work of outreach or temporary centres such as those in Mayo and Galway. We must also consider the geographical area being covered. In Tipperary, although the two local authorities were amalgamated, the new national driving licence centre was not put in Thurles - in the middle of the county - but instead two centres are operating in Nenagh and Clonmel. What differentiates Limerick and the Kerry area in this respect? A person living in Cahirciveen or Sneem is expected to go to either Tralee or Skibbereen and travel over significant distances. I ask that the Road Safety Authority consider the amount of available space currently unoccupied within local authorities and other State agencies to see if outreach offices could be provided, particularly in larger counties.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy O'Donovan for raising this important matter. The new national driver licensing service is a matter of widespread public interest and I am happy to have a chance to discuss it here. We must be clear about what has changed in issuing driver licences in the past year. Before January 2013, driver licences were issued by the motor taxation offices of local authorities, involving 30 different offices, all dedicating staff and resources to the processing of driver licence applications and the issuing of licences.

The EU requirement to introduce a plastic card driving licence from January 2013, as opposed to a paper licence, meant that there would be significant changes in the way licences were produced, and this provided an opportunity to review the entire system for driver licensing. Following from a study which examined the alternative ways driver licensing might be organised, the Government decided in May 2011 to move to a centralised national driver licensing service, NDLS. At the same time, the Government decided that the Road Safety Authority would be given charge of this service.

Centralising the services offers a number of benefits over the old system. It ensures greater consistency of practice and service across the country and will be more efficient and cost effective. In particular, there is a saving on staff numbers. The creation of a single national driver licensing service also provides for greater security and, under the RSA, offers a one-stop-shop to the public, from theory test to driving test to licence issue. The new system, designed by the RSA, involves three outsourced elements, overseen by a 'specialist unit' based in the RSA headquarters in Ballina. The three outsourced elements are - a card production facility; a front office for engaging with customers; and, a back office to process applications. Contracts were awarded by the RSA for all three services following competitive procurement processes.

Between 19 January and 25 October of this year, local authorities continued to provide customer services relating to driver licences on behalf of the RSA. On 29 October last, the RSA assumed full responsibility for the service. Under the front office contract, provided by SGS Ireland Limited on behalf of the NDLS, customer services are offered at 34 full-time centres and two part-time centres around the country. They are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. They also remain open through lunchtimes. These opening hours are more flexible than previously available and more suited to modern lifestyles. Furthermore, people will be able to use any of the offices to apply for or renew their licence rather than just to the centre in their own local authority, as was the case in the past. The new network provides service to 95% of the population within a 50 km radius.

There were some teething problems with the launch of the new service on Tuesday, 29 October, which the RSA advises have now been substantially resolved. The main difficulties were delays for customers in some NDLS centres; the customer helpline being out of service for part of the first day; and an IT problem at 12 of the 34 centres on the morning of the first day. These problems were in part exacerbated by a high level of demand due to the mid-term break and pent-up demand in the preceding weeks. The RSA has advised that a number of solutions have been put in place to address the earlier difficulties. These include the assignment of additional staff, the provision of a further information campaign and the deployment of a manual booking system of which applicants can avail.

Furthermore, the RSA informs me that it is working with the front office contractor to develop an online booking system to be deployed within a month. I understand that in light of the volume of demand at various front office locations, it has been proposed that the booking system will be deployed across all the offices. I have been assured that provision will be made for emergency situations by reserving some capacity for customers who need a licence at short notice. In the course of the past few days, the NDLS has operated a manual booking system to manage queues on the ground and that has helped to reduce queues significantly across the network. Additional staff have been assigned on the ground to ensure that customers do not have unduly long waits.

It is important to also state that the requirement to attend in person only occurs once, when the person receives a first credit card style driver's licence under this new system. On that occasion, the person's image is captured through the SAFE 2 system and identity is verified in person. That is an important measure to prevent fraud. After attending once in person, people can renew their licence through the post and are not required to attend the centres in person again when their licence needs to be renewed or updated. The move to a centralised driver licensing service is the right one in the long term, and will provide a better service to the public as well as greater security and better value for money. While there have been teething troubles with the new system, which we all very much regret, I am satisfied that these are being dealt with quickly and effectively by the RSA and should be resolved in the coming days and weeks.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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The Minister indicated that 95% of the population can avail of the service within 50 km but that leaves approximately 250,000 people who are outside of that range who predominantly live in rural areas. There has been a reduction in the number of centres from 55 to 34. The vast majority of the centres that have been closed are in rural communities, which is the reason people were waiting for up to four and a half hours last week in the Parkway shopping centre in Limerick.

When he discusses the issue with the RSA I urge the Minister to bear in mind the number of people who are driving without a current licence due to tractors and cars being taken off the road. Currently, a significant number of motor taxation issues arise over and above the issue of driver licences. Perhaps the timing of the introduction of the new system is inopportune. The reason I raised the substantive issue is the need for outreach services in rural areas in particular due to the coverage of offices. I did not say people had to go to the local authority in which they live but I made the point that the distance between Limerick and Tralee is more than 110 km and the people living in that corridor alone are at a significant disadvantage compared to somebody living in Leopardstown. I urge the Government to examine the issue, in particular in light of the number of unoccupied local authority offices around the country. That will especially be a factor given the local government Bill to provide for the abolition of town councils when a raft of offices around the country will not have a purpose. I encourage the RSA to examine the use of such offices rather than engaging in an expensive lease agreement.

I welcome the fact that the offices will be open on Saturdays and at lunch time. It begs the question of why other public services do not operate to the same level of efficiency. If the service provided by the RSA currently is up to scratch why does it have a manual booking system and is it considering the possibility of introducing an online booking system? Surely be to God that underlines the fact that the offices as currently constituted are under-resourced and under-staffed to deal with the volume of applications received. I urge that my concerns would be relayed to the RSA.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I met the CEO of the RSA about the matter yesterday and I will meet him again in the next few weeks. I will certainly pass on Deputy O’Donovan’s concerns. It is the case that the number of staff provided did not match the demand. The demand was more than anticipated and as a result in the first week there were not enough staff. The issue is now being resolved.

Previously, local authority offices did more than provide licences, they dealt with motor taxation as well and off-the-road declarations among other issues. They tended not to be open at lunch time and they were not open on Saturdays. The same is true of post offices. In many ways that is the reason the contract went elsewhere because a better service could be provided at a much lower cost.

Unless a person’s appearance changes dramatically, a person will have to attend a driver licensing service centre only once in their lives to get their SAFE 2 photograph. It is fair to say that the vast majority of people I know, who either live in rural Limerick, Cork or elsewhere in the country, do drive to the city or go to the main town probably a few times a year and certainly more often than once in their lives. The booking system will allow them to tie in a visit for that purpose onto a shopping trip or other reason for being in the nearest town or city.

That said, I accept Deputy O’Donovan’s basic point that 5% of the population is 250,000 people and they do not have an office proximate to them but there might be potential solutions. One solution could be to provide more part-time centres such as the Deputy mentioned. An alternative solution which could be examined, although I am not sure whether it is possible, would be a mobile centre that could travel to various parts of the country and in particular to isolated areas. People would have advance notice of when the service would be in a particular area a few times a year. It must be borne in mind that in future, people will need such photographs for other forms of ID. I am not sure whether such a system is possible under the current contract but contracts can be amended. I would like to see the new system bed down for a couple of weeks and then we will examine the situation again and see if further changes need to be made.