Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I support the comments of my colleagues regarding the unacceptable delays in driving test waiting times, particularly the extended periods which young people, jobseekers and rural residents are enduring just to sit their driving tests. As of the end of April, as the Minister of State will be aware, the waiting time for a test in Mallow and Wilton in Cork was 36 and 35 weeks, respectively. That is almost three times the waiting time in Mallow at the same time last year. This is a serious barrier to employment, education and independence. It is disproportionately affecting those in rural Ireland where public transport is scarce and cars are a necessity.

It is disgraceful that we are telling young people they may have to wait six months to start a position that needs a driving licence. We cannot say we are supporting rural Ireland when we are denying basic mobility to those who live there.

Like my colleagues, I acknowledge the efforts made by the RSA to recruit more testers but the current pace is too slow. We need emergency intervention, including the immediate recruitment and training of additional testers, the opening of more temporary testing centres and greater transparency around scheduling. I also believe we need to consider longer opening hours for test centres, as has been done with national car test, NCT, centres. That is particularly an option at this time of year because the evenings are longer. We must also be mindful of the fact that people also need to learn how to drive in the dark. We need to treat this issue with the urgency it demands.