Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I request that the Minister for Transport comes before the Seanad to outline how he intends to tackle the massive driving test backlog. The number of people waiting for a test has increased by 70% since he took over his Department in June.

This week, the Road Safety Authority has confirmed that there are now over 90,000 people awaiting a driving test. A quarter of those waiting are in Dublin with Tallaght making up 10% of that with a shocking 9,323 people who are waiting to complete their driving test. This means there will be people who will be forced to wait until late 2021 to complete their test. This situation is simply not acceptable. We know that public transport is down to 25% capacity and the public advice on Covid quite rightly prevents car pooling.

The failure to complete a driving test is leaving many people having to pass up on job offers as they are predicated on them having a full driving licence. To make matters even worse, the driver theory test has been suspended until early December thus creating another backlog in those needing to learn how to drive. It is obvious that there is a clear need for additional driving instructors and testers. Likewise, the Minister needs to urgently consult instructors, testers and their unions to find a way forward in order that we can accelerate the number of tests that can be carried out safely over the coming months.

We all want more public transport and active mobility solutions, including good quality cycle lanes.The Minister's failure to deal with the driving test backlog is leaving people isolated, in particular in rural Ireland, and it is locking others out of employment. I ask that the Minister come before this House and set out clearly the strategy he intends to take to deal with the backlog and crisis.