Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the detailed response. As he said, counties like Tipperary have different challenges but they are not ones that cannot be overcome. We need a little bit of time to address them but we are in a critical stage now. As the Minister of State said, in agriculture with the cutting of silage and harvesting season coming upon us, it is a critical time. The number he cited of 1,992 people waiting to be called for a test is high. I thank him for providing those detailed numbers. It would be helpful if the Department could provide a county breakdown of the number awaiting tests to provide clarity on the position nationally. Some 102 applicants are classed as essential workers, which seems quite low. Perhaps we should examine who is characterised as being an essential and non-essential worker for the purposes of the driving test. I would think those involved in agriculture, people who have jobs in line or the possibility of taking up a job on foot of having passed a driving test should be classed as essential workers. I receive calls on this issue every day. A father whose daughter had her theory test cancelled contacted me yesterday. She will now not be able to get her test until August, which will be near the end of summer. It is very frustrating for people. It is no one’s fault. I thank the Minister of State for his response.