Results 121-140 of 187 for speaker:Michael Murphy

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: That is approximately 20,000 more than the actual number of tests. What is the forecast demand for tests this year?

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: That is not including the waiting list that existed at the beginning of this year.

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: It is the actual demand. The capacity we are trying to build by the end of September, with 200 testers carrying out 7,200 tests a week, is a capacity in the system to do 360,000 tests a year. Looking beyond September and coming back to my goal to reduce the waiting list below ten weeks, I know we may have a spike in dealing with the learner permit issue. As there are between 50,000 and...

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: I want to talk about that. At the moment there is a recruitment plan to have 200 by September. What is the average age of permanent testers at the moment? Are there concerns around that?

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: Has allowance been made for planned retirements this year?

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: What is the average working time of a tester? What is the normal working week?

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: That is interesting. If we look at last year, there were on average 36 tests a week per tester. There were some weeks in the action plan at maybe 44. In a normal working week, in the absence of overtime or working on public holidays, that is, nine-to-five, five days a week, how many tests does a tester conduct?

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: I am trying to ensure the robustness and resilience of the plan, which provides for 7,200 tests a week by 200 testers, and confirm that it allows for annual leave or sickness.

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: We are building capacity in the system to be able to do 360,000 tests. That is just simple maths - 7,200 tests a week multiplied by 50 working weeks in a year. Even at 48 working weeks per year, it is nearly 350,000 tests. There is plenty of capacity to get the waiting time well below ten weeks within 12 months.

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: My time is short. That is the-----

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: I will ask a question on that to get into the granular detail of the plan. There are a lot of different centres in the action plan whereby waiting times are going to be reduced by half from 20 weeks to ten without the addition of any new tester. I am going to take Clonmel as an example. Can the witnesses tell me about the waiting list? I know it is a 20-week waiting list but how many are...

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: Can Mr. Walsh explain in the context of the EU working directive and so on how the waiting list can be reduced by half in Clonmel without an additional tester?

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: Looking at the action plan, I see one tester for Clonmel, and Clonmel migrating to two testers by the end of September. Is Mr. Walsh saying we could have an additional tester in Clonmel but that detail is not in the action plan?

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: It would be of concern to me if there is a plan to reduce the lists in Clonmel, and indeed many other examples within the action plan, simply by overtime alone. That is not sustainable. Can Mr. Walsh confirm that we will have an additional permanent tester in Clonmel by the end of September, and we are going to go from one to two?

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: Tipperary town is staying at one.

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: Coming back to my original question, is the RSA confident that it can achieve the ten weeks by the end of September and that the capacity it is building in the system with 200 permanent testers is 360,000 tests per year? Is the forecasted demand for testing 276,000?

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: What will it be for 2027?

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: So we can be very hopeful of reducing the waiting lists by natural progression.

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: I am going to give Senator Comyn, who is joining us today, two and a half minutes. I hope to let our other members in for one and a half minutes.

Committee on Transport: Driving Test and NCT Delays: RSA (11 Jun 2025)

Michael Murphy: I am going to allow everybody back in. I will allow for a minute or a minute and half each because other members could walk in. I am going to go in reverse order. I will go to the Vice-Chair, Deputy Moynihan, first, followed by Deputies Currie and Collins. I will then come in with some closing remarks.