Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Due to the closure of services provided by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, I took measures to extend the validity of number of documents, including the learner permit.  Any learner permits which were due to expire from 1 March 2020 to 30 June 2020 inclusive have had their period of validity extended by 4 months. If it is the case that the NDLS centres have not re-opened before the extension period expires, the possibility of a further extension will be examined.

The RSA is currently working, in consultation with my Department, on plans for the resumption of the range of services and functions for which it is responsible, following the publication of the Government roadmap and, more recently, the National Return to Work Safety Protocol as agreed by employer and trade union representatives.

The resumption of driver testing test raises particular problems in terms of compliance with the Protocol and in particular social distancing rules, as it requires the driver tester and the candidate to be within a two metre distance continuously for a period in excess of 20 minutes, in a very confined space which is not in itself a workplace under the control of the RSA.

I appreciate that the inability to carry out driving tests at this time is among the many difficulties that we all are having to endure at this time, for those awaiting such tests.  On a very preliminary appraisal of the Protocol, car driving tests may have to be the last of the statutory functions for which the RSA is responsible to recommence in or after Phase 5 of the Government's roadmap.

Dates for the resumption of the RSA's services, and any special arrangements which will need to be put into place to allow for the provision of these services, will be determined in consultation with the relevant health authorities.

As a private company, a driving school must ensure that they can comply with the necessary public health requirements before they can reopen their businesses. The National Return to Work Safely Protocol was developed by NPHET in consultation with national experts.

However, I expect a driving school to encounter the same difficulties as the RSA in terms of complying with the requirements of this Protocol.  I understand that any company which reopens is subject to inspection by Health and Safety Authority, and may face serious sanctions, including closure, if found to be not in compliance with Covid-19 requirements. 

The safety of the public is of paramount importance at this time, whether from infection or from deaths and injuries on the road, and in this as in all aspects of the Covid-19 crisis, my Department will be guided by NPHET and national experts.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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879. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will address a matter regarding the conducting of driver tests (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8481/20]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I am disappointed that my observations would be taken as implying that the driving test would not resume in the present year. I have referred to the obvious difficulties of holding a driving test while ensuring the health and safety of testers and test candidates, and explained that it is likely that the driving test will not resume until phase 5 of the Government's Roadmap for reopening the county.

I am well aware of the difficulties which the suspension of driver testing services has caused, but as Minister I do not have the option of focusing on certain difficulties and ignoring the wider aspects of public safety. There could be no justification for risking the safety of learner drivers or other road users by granting them licences without a test - without proving that they are suited to be qualified drivers.

Figures show that only 52% of candidates passed the driving test in 2019. These people had all completed the mandatory programme of lessons. I presume that their instructors advised the other 48%, or most of them, that they were ready to take the test. Instructors are not testers, and their views of their pupils' driving abilities, however well-intentioned they might be, are hardly independent.

Passing a driving test to the specified standards is a prerequite under EU law. It is there for public safety. To suggest that this vital safety standard should be waived because of the inconvenience caused by other essential safety measures - in this case the closure of the driver testing service for health reasons - is rather bizarre. This would leave us with people getting a full licence who had not qualified for it, and who could be a risk to public safety on our roads for decades to come.

The driver testing service will open when it is safe to do so. The safety of the public on our roads will not be compromised in the meantime.