Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach, Senator Mark Daly, for choosing this Commencement matter. I thank the Minister of State for taking time from his busy schedule. He is welcome back to the Upper House.

I am sure that, like me, the Minister of State remembers sitting his driving test. Research over the years shows that people find sitting their driving test harder than State exams or college exams. They are rolling a practical test and a theory test into one and the period of time that the tester is in the car with a person can be very stressful. It always was and still is a compulsory rite of passage. It is a movement onwards in life because passing the test opens doors in education and employment. As I said, it is a compulsory rite of passage.

At present, there are almost 379,000 learner drivers, which is an increase of 63% since 2019. Obviously, many of these have not applied for a test or are not ready for a test, but that will be coming down the line and many have applied for tests. In 2019, the waiting time for a driving test was six weeks but what is considered a normal waiting time is now 24 weeks, so we have gone from six weeks to six months. The pandemic was blamed for this for a while but, to be fair, everything else in life has caught up. The effects of the pandemic have been erased from many parts of life and so it should be for this too. It is not enough of an excuse or reason for these long waiting lists.

There is a rule that learner drivers cannot drive by themselves. I fully agree with this rule but it is extremely hard for families to ensure that a parent or older sibling who has a full driving licence is in the car with these young people. It is just not acceptable to be waiting so long. Many are waiting so long that their 12 lessons have gone out of their head by the time they are called for their test. It is adding much unnecessary pressure.

A revamp of the whole system is needed. People are reporting that it is hard to log on to book a test and impossible to get someone on the phone to change a test. I know there are a lot of no-shows and perhaps there should be a stronger clampdown on the no-shows. Perhaps we need a system whereby if someone gives notice of a cancellation, a waiting list kicks in straight away. That is not happening at the moment. We have a wonderful young generation. At the moment, it is like a bird whose wings have been cut. This is holding back that generation. Many people and councillors have been on to me because their constituents have been on to them. This is a serious matter. It is not rocket science and could be sorted easily. It is holding young people back from accessing education and employment. Some people are hoping to move abroad for a few years and need their driving test so they can bring a licence with them. Many people are having to refuse employment because they do not have a full driving licence. It is quite a serious matter.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator. She is right that the delays are too long. It is a serious matter and I thank her for raising it, and for highlighting the pressure on young people and their families. She is correct in that regard.

I am smiling at the notion that the driving test is a rite of passage. It is. I would have loved to have taken the Senator for a driving lesson. One can imagine the fun we would have had. It is a serous matter. As the Senator knows, under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority has statutory responsibility for the national driving tester service. At the end of March, as the Senator said, the average waiting time was 24 weeks. That is far higher than the accepted service level agreement of ten weeks. I assure the Senator that the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and I are taking the matter seriously. We are considering how to address the issue.

As the population has grown, the demand on the driving test service has similarly increased, with last year being the busiest year in the history of the service. A total of 253,850 driving tests were conducted, which was an increase from 196,853 in 2023. This increase in demand for driving tests and the time to invitation for learner drivers has a number of contributing factors. As the Senator said, Covid-19 was one. There has also been an increase in the number of learner permits in circulation, increased capacity in the driver theory test and an increase in advanced driving instructors’ capacity to deliver lessons to learner drivers. The Department of Transport, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and I have sought to support the RSA in meeting rising demand through a number of staffing sanctions in recent years. In September 2024, 70 additional permanent positions for driver testers were sanctioned. This increases the total permanent sanction for testers to 200, which represents a doubling since 2022. As a condition of sanction, officials requested the RSA to put a plan in place to restore waiting times to ten weeks as soon as possible.

A recruitment process is under way, with the first tranche of new testers being deployed into service this month. New testers will begin to come in over the coming months. I appreciate that needs to be expedited and fast-tracked. I hope we will see steady progress on reducing waiting times in the coming months.

To further alleviate pressure on the service, driver testing is offered on Saturdays where driver testers are available to do overtime and there are also additional morning and evening test slots available where daylight allows. This has been the case since the current backlog in driving tests started to build up. Sunday overtime is not offered, as the RSA would be required to offer a day in lieu for such testing, thereby adding no additional capacity to the driver testing service.

Additionally, to further assist with reducing waiting times, in October 2023 a change was made to the system to allow any unused slots to be made available for anyone to take up at short notice. The Senator is right that if there are cancellations, the RSA must allow such appointments to be available to candidates on the MyRoadSafety portal. If that is too difficult, we must make it easier. I will take the Senator's views on that point back to the Minister.

While new testers will bring additional capacity in the short term, in the longer term it is intended that the RSA will be reformed consequent to a Government decision of November 2024. This reform will be carried out on a phased and planned basis. A departmental group, led by the Department and comprising relevant stakeholders, is tasked with developing a comprehensive implementation plan, including required legislation, to ensure the delivery of real reform, road safety benefits and an improved customer experience.

I thank the Senator and assure her that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and I have spoken about this issue with the Department. We are engaging with the RSA. There have been a number of meetings on this topic.There was a commitment to restore waiting times to ten weeks. Any additional levers to accelerate timelines will be used. I again thank the Senator for raising the matter. She is right; this is about people and people in rural areas sometimes require a car more than anything else.

Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply, for acknowledging that there is a problem and for his commitment and the commitment of the other two Ministers to resolve this. The ten weeks would be fairly acceptable because it is ten months in some areas at the moment. With regard to Sunday not being an option because of having to offer a day in lieu, perhaps that could be cut out. Perhaps double pay could be offered rather than a day in lieu, which would obviously nullify any expediting of the list because they would then take a day off at some other time. I thank the Minister of State very much.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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The Senator is right again. It is about being creative and ensuring that the very important and serious matter of this long-term and long-standing issue in service provision, which the Government understands and recognises, is addressed. We must ensure we have a reliable, high-quality driving testing service. We understand that these unacceptable waiting times have profound implications for those waiting for a driving test. It is important that the Government commit to doing two things. The first is tackling the issue and the second is improving public transport for those in rural Ireland. I reiterate that the Department is working with the RSA to manage the backlog in the driving testing service. I do not say this as an excuse but, as Members will know, there has been extraordinary demand for the service in recent times and this post-Covid period. To reiterate, last year, 253,850 driving tests were conducted. That is an increase from 196,853 in 2023. That is an increase of 29%. It was a record year for the delivery of tests. I accept that people are not getting their tests. I recognise that we have an issue. Our target is ten weeks. We all look forward to meeting the demand the Senator has laid out this morning.