Alison Comyn (Fianna Fail)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. As we have heard across the House today, Ireland is facing a critical challenge with driving test waiting times, which we know have reached unprecedented levels. I will not repeat some of the figures we have heard today but we know some test centres have waiting lists four times the RSA's target of ten weeks. This backlog is not just an inconvenience. It has terrible consequences. Learners are generally paying sky-high insurance premiums, often around €3,000 annually, while waiting to sit their test. Many are unable to take up job offers, apprenticeships or college places that require a full licence. In rural areas where public transport is limited, the delays are particularly damaging. Calls are growing for the establishment of more permanent test centres especially in underserved areas like my hometown of Drogheda, as Senator Collins mentioned, which despite being Ireland's largest town still lacks a test centre of its own. I have been in constant contact with the RSA, first as a journalist and now as a Senator, since we lost our temporary test centre two years ago. Closing it at the time was the right decision as it was not in a suitable location, but at the time of closing, 2,200 people were waiting for their tests. They were all redeployed to neighbouring test centres, but this put untold pressure on them. The current waiting time in Navan, as we heard from Senator Nelson Murray, has increased to nine months. I am not being glib in saying, and I agree with Senator Cosgrove, that a person could potentially have forgotten how to drive if he or she had no access to a car in that space of time. It is a far cry from the RSA desired times of just ten weeks. I have liaised constantly with the RSA to provide suggested locations in Drogheda and I hope a resolution can be reached soon and tests can once again be taken in south Louth.