Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

Will the Leader speak with the Minister for Transport, as a matter of urgency, regarding his proposal to contract out the appointment of a group of testers to expedite the backlog of driving test applications? I recently met a delegation of people from the west who are involved in testing. They have grave concerns about the Minister contracting out such appointments to people who have no previous experience of testing.

If we are serious about seeking to ensure a decline in the number of road deaths, it is important we bring under the umbrella of the existing framework provisions regarding the training of driving testers. An additional eight personnel have been secured from the Department of Agriculture and Food. There is a strong feeling among people within this system that the way forward is to continue that process, as opposed to prolonging the delay through the advertising of posts and issuing of contracts to people whom we do not know have the necessary qualifications and who will be gone when the backlog of applications has been cleared. This is a serious matter. If we are serious about road safety and reducing the carnage on our roads, we should not tamper with the existing position but increase the number of personnel from internal sources.