Results 10,041-10,060 of 26,021 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: What feedback is the RSA getting from the Department of Transport on the request for these additional 40 testers?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: I will put it to the committee today that we write to the Department of Transport asking it to expedite the provision of these 40 driver testers to bring it to 80 additional driver testers. The number will then be 218. How quickly can the RSA have these 80 additional testers in place if it gets the sanction? If they are in place and the level 5 restrictions are lifted, how quickly can the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Mr. Naughton is talking about a lead time of July to October. Will he give me the timescale on bringing the waiting times down? If the RSA operates with 178 driver testers, how many weeks would that bring it down to? When will the RSA get to a ten week waiting time?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: It will be 12 weeks in February 2022. If the RSA gets the additional 40 on top of the 40 now recruited, bringing it to 218, what is the trajectory to get to ten weeks? How long will it take?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: What will the waiting times be if the RSA stays at the additional 40 to bring it up to 178 rather than 218?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Mr. Naughton is saying it is not feasible only operating with the additional 40. The RSA needs an additional 80, otherwise it will never be brought back to ten weeks. Mr. Naughton said that it would be 12 weeks by February of next year if the RSA gets the additional 40, bringing it to 80 driver testers. When will it get to ten weeks?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: We will write to the Department posthaste asking it to expedite it but Mr. Naughton's side will have to uphold it. If the additional 40 come on board, I would like to see the timeframe on the recruitment be brought back from October. Everything should be done because this is an enormous issue for ordinary people who cannot get driver tests. Once level 5 is lifted, it is hugely important...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: I agree.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: What is the profile of the people the RSA recruit as driver testers? What qualifications do they require?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Has Senator Buttimer concluded?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: In that context, what is stopping the RSA from being ambitious in setting a target waiting time of two or three weeks? Why are we settling for ten weeks? If the RSA was to set a target of a two or three-week waiting time, how many testers would be required in the short, medium and long term?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: The RSA needs an additional 80 testers for a period of 18 months. When those 80 testers come in the RSA will be able to function thereafter on a complement of 140 driver testers, with an average waiting time of ten weeks. Am I correct in my analysis?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: In that context, perhaps Mr. Naughton might provide the committee with an indication of what additional driver testing capacity would be required if the RSA were to bring the weeks down incrementally from ten weeks to two weeks. It would be a good measure to look at, and it is something we could follow up with the Department on the RSA's behalf. Sinn Féin has agreed to share its...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: I ask Mr. Rowland to conclude.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Perhaps that submission could be made available to the committee. It would be welcome.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: I ask Mr. Naughton to repeat those figures.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: Does Mr. Naughton have a total figure for Tipperary?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: We will circulate that list. Does Mr. Naughton have a total figure for Tipperary?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: That is okay. I have no doubt that Deputy Lowry has already computed the figure.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 (2 Mar 2021)

Kieran O'Donnell: I assumed the Senator would be interested in all counties.