Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, on his new appointment. As he did such an amazing job as Minister of State with responsibility for sport, I was thinking about whether I would be in touch with him as much as I used to be. Then I saw that he was taking on the National Driver Licence Service, NDLS, the Road Safety Authority, RSA and driving tests and I realised I was going to be in touch just as much. I have no worries about it. Obviously, he took up the role just before Christmas but this is still January so I do not expect him to have the full ins and outs and the full details of the issues happening in those areas. At the same time I trust that he would have a fair idea of what has been happening.

I referenced in the Topical Issue specifically Skibbereen but there is an issue nationwide in regard to the time it is taking for young people in particular to sit the test. I single out young people because they are the most impacted by this. The time it is taking between finishing driving lessons and getting an actual test is an issue people coming into my office raise. A young lady from Ballinascarthy who finished her lessons came in to see me. She did everything right. She applied for the test on 7 November. She was told at that stage that she would be invited to book an actual test at the end of February or start of March, only to be told days later that it would be the first week of May before she would be actually invited to book, at which point there would be another four weeks before she would actually get the test. This is happening throughout the country. It is certainly happening throughout west Cork. What I am pleading with the Minister of State for today is to see that the resources and investment are put into that whole area of testing so that we can expedite this in order that primarily young people are not waiting such lengths of time.

A young man from Rosscarbery had an almost identical issue. He looked to book a driving test in November only to be told that it would be at least the start of May until he could be invited to book a test. This is happening wholescale. It is happening nationally but there is actually a specific issue in Skibbereen where there were two full-time testers in the test centre, but now it is down to one. Clearly, to my mind it seems obvious that is having an impact on the ground here.

Young people are eager to get driving and to have that independence. We are all aware of that and familiar with it. However there is more than that. When you let that lengthy period lapse between your last lesson and your test that could be a seven-month period. The advice is to have further lessons in the interim. In the case of that young woman from Ballinscarthy, that will cost her €700. That €700 is very hard to come by when you are a leaving certificate student. That is another thing to factor in. There are other challenges, such as travelling to work, particularly in parts of Ireland that are not well served and connected by public transport. In that instance, that sixth-year student is coming up to exam time and requires grinds in different subjects. Young people need that independence instead of always relying on their parents. That is just a brief example of what is happening on the ground.

As I said, the Minister of State is new to this role. I have massive faith in him because of how well he performed and what he has done especially for west Cork clubs in terms of funding for sports clubs and sports facilities. I have faith he will be able to turn this around.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the kind words of Deputy O'Sullivan. It was great to be down in west Cork and see huge ambition in sport. However, now in a new role, we have to resolve some of the issues the Deputy is having in regard to transport. I know the difficulty and anxiety the delays in driver testing is causing many people who are waiting excessive times. It is unacceptable.

As the Deputy knows, the Road Safety Authority has statutory responsibility for operational aspects of the national driving test, including applications and scheduling matters. The issue of driving tests delays is a problem throughout the State which is being repeatedly raised by a number of Deputies. The current national average waiting time for invitation to test is 19 weeks, far above the service level agreement of ten weeks. Indeed, in Skibbereen, I am told the waiting time for an invitation to test is 25 weeks which is well above the current national average and the national average is unacceptable and needs to be dealt with. That is what I am going to try to do.

Broadly speaking the numbers are reflective of a demand on driver testing services, which is 28% up on 2021 figures and 27% up on 2018 pre-Covid-19 pandemic figures. I am informed that the current increase in demand for driving tests and the time to invitation for learner drivers has a number of contributing factors which include an increase in learner permits in circulation which has grown by about 30% since quarter 3 of 2019; increased capacity in the driver theory test when the service resumed post-pandemic and an increase in advanced driver instructors' capacity to deliver lessons to learner drivers which has increased the volume of learners becoming eligible and ready to take their actual test.

I would like to assure the Deputy that the RSA is making every effort to manage these demand pressures. The authority conducted a review of the current and evolving needs of the national driver testing service in 2022, following which my Department sanctioned an increase in the permanent driver tester headcount from 100 to 130. I am informed that the RSA is currently deploying a number of successful candidates across the driver testing service, with a focus on geographical areas with the longest waiting lists. It is expected that the remainder will be deployed by quarter 1 of 2023. However, I acknowledge there is further work to be done to provide the driver testing services each customer deserves and the authority is committed to delivering. The RSA has assured me that it is keeping the situation under review and the authority will report back to my Department on the steps being taken to continue to reduce waiting times. If sanction requests for further increases in driver testers are received my Department will evaluate them promptly.

On a separate but related matter, I am aware of reports that were made last year following a county council meeting in November 2022, that Skibbereen driving test centre was closing at the end of the year. I would like to assure the Deputy that the RSA has confirmed there are no plans to close Skibbereen driving test centre. The authority will continue to service the Skibbereen driving test centre either via staff headquartered in Skibbereen directly or with resources based across Cork as demand requires. As we referenced with the 25-week average waiting time which is unacceptable, additional resources will be required in Skibbereen directly to deal with the excessive waiting times. Just this afternoon I had a lengthy discussion with my officials in the Department on this issue. I met with the RSA last week. This is not an acceptable threshold of public service in the context of the wait times. We have to ensure that in 2023 we get it back towards the service level agreement, which is ten weeks. However, even ten weeks should be examined. I believe we have to be more ambitious to deliver a better public service that is less than ten weeks. If we can build extra capacity within the system, we have to assess where the 30 are deployed, the 30% increase on the headcount of 100 that was there, and what the impact of that will be. We are anxious to deliver a better service for people who are waiting excessive times including in Skibbereen. There is active work ongoing on this with the RSA and with my Department.

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. I am encouraged by the tone of his response and the fact he understands the urgency and that something needs to be done, and that he intends to look at this. I also welcome the fact that in his response he outlined the seriousness of the situation specifically in Skibbereen. He mentioned the figures there. The service level agreement is ten weeks, 19 weeks is the average and Skibbereen is facing waits of 25 weeks. That is exactly what we are hearing in the constituency office. Young people in the geographical area of west Cork are experiencing longer waiting times and are becoming frustrated. There was a question of the Skibbereen centre closing and I welcome confirmation from the RSA that it is not going to close. However, it is one thing not to close it.

It is another thing to make sure it operates efficiently and effectively and gives people the waiting time for a test they deserve. That is going to require investment and resourcing and, at the very least, it is going to require moving the Skibbereen test centre from being resourced by one tester to two. The increase of that extra driving tester will massively reduce waiting times.

There is also the parallel issue that there are many driving instructors in Skibbereen who rely on this for their income. They rely on the fact that Skibbereen is a town where people can go to do their driving test and, therefore, people choose to have their driving lessons there. There are many fantastic driving instructors in Skibbereen who rely on this and they will see the economic benefits of an extra tester being placed in Skibbereen.

Let us not forget what this is all about. It is about young people who want their independence. They want to be able to drive themselves to grinds, to work or wherever they want to go. This is what it is about. These 25-week waiting lists are just too much. Let us work to reduce that and let us get an extra tester in the Skibbereen test centre.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I absolutely agree, and I welcome the Deputy’s positive and constructive contribution on this. We have to build greater capacity. The 30% increase in permanent headcount will make an impact and, as I said, they are being deployed with a focus very much on the centres that are above the national average, which should benefit Skibbereen.

More generally, the Deputy is correct that many young people are waiting excessively for a test, which is impacting their lives in many ways, whether in terms of sport, education or a whole other range of areas. We have an obligation to deliver a public service that people expect.

We also have a new vision around road safety and road deaths. We had a difficult year last year on road deaths, but if we are ambitious on broadening road safety objectives and trying to make sure people with learner permits have the opportunity to get a test, especially those with multiple learner permits, we have to ensure we have better capacity within the driver testing system. I assure the Deputy this is an absolute priority for me and there will be ongoing engagement with the Road Safety Authority on building capacity to make this much more efficient through the year. In regard to the service level agreement, which is at ten weeks, we need to ensure we are ambitious about building a better public service for all those who are waiting.

We also know from the broader point on population demographics that there will be a growing level of demand over the coming years, and that is why we have to build on the capacity that was achieved last year with a 30% increase. I am anxious to engage with the Road Safety Authority on that and, as I said, we engaged with officials on this earlier today. We appreciate the Deputy raising the issue.