Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 293: To ask the Minister for Transport his proposal to deal with the driving test backlog in County Louth. [22706/06]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I refer the deputy to my reply to Question No. 55 of 7 June, 2006.

As I have consistently indicated, the delay in providing driving tests is a matter of regret to me. I believe it not only represents a poor service to the public but it is also hampering the development of initiatives which I wish to pursue and which will contribute further to road safety. The driving test and those who deliver it are a key element in the road safety strategy.

It is my objective to eliminate the backlog of driving tests by mid-2007. That means having a waiting list of no more than about 50,000 that can be scheduled in a 10 to 12 week period.

The measures in place to deal with this are as follows.

Seven civil servants from the Department of Agriculture and Food commenced working as driver testers in April this year and will conduct tests in 2006 and 2007. This gives an annual additional capacity of about 10,000 tests.

Six further driver testers on 2-year contracts commenced training on 12 June, with another 5 being trained shortly thereafter. These will provide additional capacity of about 15,000 tests in a full year.

A bonus scheme for driver testers has been operating since February 2006. The testers have the potential to deliver up to 40,000 driving tests over the course of the year in the evenings and on Saturdays.

The final element in the package to eliminate the backlog of driving tests was to outsource a block of tests to an outside agency. Negotiations on this aspect reached a position on the 31 May where the Labour Relations Commission, acting as agreed mediator, recommended proposals that would enable my objective of using this option to be implemented. I have accepted the proposals and I am pleased that the driver testers have also accepted these proposals.

As envisaged by the proposals, a contract to deliver the tests is to be in place by 1st July 2006. This contract will be for the purpose of achieving a defined number of completed tests to assist in eliminating the current backlog of applications. It could be extended to 45,000 tests if necessary.

I expect to see a marked reduction in the waiting list nationwide, by the end of this year and will formally review the position, taking account of all the above measures, at that stage.