Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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11. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if deployment of staff has happened at the three driving test centres in County Clare to deal with significant waiting times of up to 35 weeks in Shannon, Ennis, and Kilrush (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10301/23]

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Significant waiting times for driving tests are being experienced by people in County Clare. I received a commitment in this Chamber and in the committee rooms from the Road Safety Authority, RSA, that a significant additional deployment of staff would happen in the driving test centres in Ennis, Shannon and Kilrush. I want to get an update from the Minister on that.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware that the RSA has statutory responsibility for the operational aspects of the national driving test, NCT, including test applications and scheduling matters. I would first like to assure the Deputy that the Department is working closely with the authority on addressing driver testing waiting times, which is an issue of great concern. The current national average waiting time for an invitation to test is 21 weeks, far above the service level agreement of ten weeks. As I informed the Deputy previously, this is reflective of demand on driver testing services, which is 28% up on 2021 figures and 27% up on 2018 pre-Covid pandemic figures. Contributing factors include an increase in learner permits in circulation, increased capacity in the driver theory test and an increase in approved driving instructors' capacity to deliver lessons to learner drivers. All of these factors have experienced a surge in demand.

The RSA conducted a review of the current and evolving needs of the driver testing service in 2022, following which the Department sanctioned an increase in the permanent driver tester headcount from 100 to 130. Deployment of these successful candidates is almost complete and has been focused on geographical areas with the longest waiting lists. 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. Subsequently, in late 2022 and early 2023, the RSA conducted an updated analysis of demand versus capacity. The Department is actively engaged with the RSA in evaluating this request for additional resources. It will shortly be in a position to have all relevant and required information from the RSA, which will enable the approval of the sanction to recruit a further cohort of driver testers needed to address the backlog and return to service level agreement targets.

The assessment is clear. We will have to sanction further testers to bring us back to a service level agreement of ten weeks or even better, which would be acceptable. That is why I am actively engaged, on a daily basis, in trying to accelerate that business case with a view to recruiting additional testers.

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. I have been following this issue for quite a while. I welcome the fact that additional driving testers have been sanctioned and approved, and they have been recruited. Now they need to be deployed to the different areas that are experiencing long delays. I was given to believe by the Minister of State that areas that are experiencing the longest delays would be prioritised, for example, Shannon in County Clare. The average waiting time for a test there is 35 weeks, which is shocking. The service level agreement is supposed to be ten weeks, and that is long enough, but people are not getting in within ten weeks in any of the centres in Clare, including in Ennis or Kilrush. It is a 20-week or 19-week wait, which is just not acceptable. I was given a commitment in this Chamber that additional driving testers would be redeployed to the three test centres in County Clare. I want to know if that has happened.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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As I have said, the wait time in Ennis is 22 weeks, the wait time in Kilrush is 13 weeks and, as the Deputy has said, the wait time in Shannon is 35 weeks. I have been told by the RSA that the additional sanctioned testers are being deployed in the areas with the longest waiting times. I will ask the RSA to correspond with the Deputy on the specific deployment but we have been told they are being deployed with a focus on the geographic areas with the longest waiting lists. Even with that deployment, we will need to recruit additional testers and that is what I want to try to accelerate. I want to bring this to a service level that is better than ten weeks and we must conclude the business case to achieve that. With the current demand analysis and the existing capacity level, my priority is to conclude the existing business case the Department is evaluating with a view to recruiting additional testers this year and bringing the wait time back to an acceptable level, which will have a broader road safety benefit as well.

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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The RSA has admitted that the current cohort of 130 testers will not be able to deal with the backlogs or cope into the future either. The Minister of State is right that sanction has been sought by the RSA for the employment of 40 additional testers. The RSA, under questioning from me, agreed that it should not be looking for temporary testers but that these should be permanent positions. Can the Minister of State confirm that the RSA has sought sanction for 40 permanent positions? It takes nearly a year to get these people into place. We have the longest ever waiting lists for driving tests, yet we cannot make a decision on this. I urge the Minister of State to sanction the funding to get these 40 additional testers into place and that these positions be permanent.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Before the Minister of State responds, we will hear from Deputy Cathal Crowe.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for allowing me some speaking time on this. I fully support what my colleague has said. The wait time is extremely punitive in counties in the west such as Clare. Many of the people affected are youngsters whose parents bought them a car so they could commute to college and work. A lot of them cannot find accommodation and now they find themselves criminalised in a way because they cannot drive solo with learner plates as they need to be accompanied.

We want testers on permanent contracts. I will make two suggestions and I ask the Minister of State to respond to them. First, perhaps we should put our driving testers, who are highly qualified, on temporary secondment. An instructor could be temporarily appointed to take on this role in each large urban centre where there is a driving school. My second suggestion is probably more controversial but it would make a huge difference to the young people of Ireland. I suggest the requirement for a learner driver to be accompanied by a qualified driver be suspended for a few months, just until we get over this hump.

They are deemed after 12 lessons to be able to go out on the road, sit a test and drive independently. How can an accompanying driver suddenly grab the wheel and take control of a car? It does not make any logical sense.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank both Deputies for their suggestions. There is an important road safety component for learner drivers which has been developed over many years. The solution is the sanction of additional testers rather than unwinding or undoing evidence-based road safety measures that have been developed over a number of years. We must try to assist learner drivers to get a test and bring the waiting time down, which is part of our road safety strategy. I want to conclude the evaluation as quickly as possible so we can sanction additional testers. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, last year received the demand analysis from the Road Safety Authority, which concluded that an additional 30 testers would satisfy the growth in demand. That figure has been updated based on current demand analysis. I wish to ensure that whatever decision we make, it future-proofs the service level we can expect. We have a young demographic and we need to ensure we develop a service with a waiting time less than ten weeks that gives everyone certainty around being able to book their test, drive safely and pass their test. That is my priority and I want to conclude it as quickly as possible so the likes of Shannon, Kilrush and other test centres where people are waiting too long are brought back to a proper service level.