Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising the issue of the backlog of driving tests in Tipperary, which I am taking on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of Sate with responsibility for transport, Deputy Naughton.

Under the Road Safety Act and as provided by the Oireachtas, the driver testing service is an operational matter for the Road Safety Authority, RSA. Specific details about locations and the backlog in Tipperary are matters for the RSA. If the Senator contacts the RSA and has any difficulty he can come back to me and my office will assist him. However, I can tell him that currently in Tipperary across Clonmel, Nenagh, Thurles and Tipperary Town a total of 1,992 people are waiting for an invite for a test. Some 220 people have been scheduled for a test, having booked their test date, and 102 people are in category B - those are applicants who have advised us they are an essential worker and are awaiting an invite for their test. I have more detailed information on that which I can provide to the Deputy afterwards and through my office.

Due to the suspension of driver testing services in the initial pandemic response, along with the health protocols required since the resumption of services, a significant backlog has developed. Driving tests for essential workers continue to be the priority for the driver testing service. However, in line with the gradual reopening of services, driving tests for all those who are eligible to take the test and have been waiting longest will recommence in a limited fashion from late May. The further opening of the driver testing service will be the subject of discussions between Department of Transport officials and the RSA in the coming weeks.

RSA driver testers are undertaking driving tests in extraordinarily difficult conditions, in an enclosed space, where physical distancing is not possible. Testers are also moving between vehicles provided by test candidates, which are not controllable work environments.

The Department of Transport is liaising with the RSA on an ongoing basis on how to meet the growing demand for tests. An additional 40 driver testers have been authorised, along with 36 approved for retention or rehire in 2020. The RSA is making good progress in recruiting these additional testers and they are expected to conduct tests by the end of June 2021. The Department and the RSA will monitor what impact the new testers are having as they come onstream and as the Covid restriction level reduces. Further recruitment, if necessary, is currently being discussed.

The RSA is also looking at a number of other measures, including whether the number of tests a driver tester can perform each day can be increased within current health constraints. Due to the additional hygiene and sanitation procedures that are required, each testing slot now takes a much longer time to complete. As a result, the number of tests a tester can safely conduct per day was reduced from eight to five when the service reopened. Following experience of managing the tests under Covid restrictions, this was increased to six in mid-September. This may be raised to seven, depending on health assurances, but not until June 2021 at the earliest.

Currently, the RSA, in prioritising driver testing for essential workers, has set up a dedicated webform on its website . This webform allows customers toassess whether they qualify for an urgent test appointment and, if so, to submit an application for a driving test.

The Department is in discussions with the RSA on how to return to the normal target for the maximum waiting time, which is around ten weeks. It is clear it will not be possible to arrive at this quickly, given restraints which must be in place due to the pandemic. The safety of staff and test candidates is of paramount importance.

The Department of Transport notes that the health protocols for the service since resumption in the summer 2020 were developed by the RSA with expert medical advice. Despite the inherent risks in a service which inevitably involves testers and test candidates in close proximity in a confined space, there has been no case of Covid transmission during the driving test.

I acknowledge counties like Tipperary are in a different position from, for example, Dublin both because of the distances that have to be travelled and alternative sustainable means of transport is not always available. Public transport services often do not exist and there are specific requirements for agricultural transport licences to carry out the work of agriculture, which mean it is essential that people can have these tests.