Mark Duffy (Fine Gael)

The Minister of State is welcome to the House. As Fine Gael spokesperson in the Seanad for transport and a member of the Joint Committee on Transport, I welcome the opportunity to debate this pressing issue that is affecting individuals throughout the country. With 83,486 people waiting for tests, it is simply not good enough and needs to be addressed urgently. In places like Navan, Tallaght and Galway, waiting times are in excess of 40 weeks and this needs to be addressed as soon as possible. In County Mayo, where I am from, in April of 2022, Ballina and Castlebar had waiting times of six weeks and three weeks, respectively. In April 2025, waiting times in Ballina had gone up to 27 weeks and in Castlebar to 25 weeks. There has been more than a quadrupling of waiting times in that period. That amounts to 485 people in Ballina waiting for tests and in excess of 1,000 in the Castlebar centre.

I would like to highlight the real-word effect of that. A recent representation made to me by a constituent read as follows:

I am 20 years old and I am currently working as a Full-time Special Needs Assistant (SNA) in Belmullet, County Mayo. I’m writing to ask for your assistance in helping me secure a driving test appointment.

My role requires me not only to support students during the ... day, but also to act as a bus escort for children with high dependency needs. This means early starts and late finishes, and reliable transport is essential for me to fulfil my duties. My commute is approximately 15 minutes by car, and with both of my parents working full time, I am finding it increasingly difficult to manage transport.

Being able to drive independently would ensure I can continue supporting the children in my care, both in school and during transport, without putting additional pressure on my family.

There are many such lived experiences and real-life examples throughout the country.

We need to do more. Bashing the RSA is easy. The authority is based in my home town of Ballina in Mayo. We need to support it to do more on this issue because it is affecting the economy and society in a pronounced manner. I invite the Minister of State to meet with the RSA. We need to reinvigorate the office.We need to resource the authority and ensure new testers are introduced in order that we can drastically reduce waiting times. I welcome the efforts of the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and encourage the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to keep a close eye on the situation and ensure waiting times are brought down.

Situations such as this have a real-world effect. There needs to be a degree of empathy. We could offer prioritisation where a job will be affected or a family or healthcare professional is affected. We need to give priority for special needs cases such as those. I thank the Minister of State for his time and look forward to his reply.