Written answers

Tuesday, 6 October 2020

Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Driver Licences

Photo of Róisín ShortallRóisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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232. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the steps he will take to deal with the long delays in getting appointments for driver licences in Dublin; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that many people are left with no choice but to travel out of Dublin to other test centres in order to get an appointment, which results in them breaking Covid-19 emergency period restrictions and also wasting fuel; if he will consider a postal service for driver licence renewals such as the process in place for passport renewals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28746/20]

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The National Driver Licence Service (NDLS), provided by the Road Safety Authority (RSA), resumed services in June, following the closure of the centres due to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. However, it is not possible to facilitate any walk-ins due to the social distancing requirements and in the interest of protecting the staff and customers. Therefore, all appointments must be booked in advance. This, of course, has led to an increase in the demand for appointments.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) is working with their providers to see how they can create the additional capacity needed as quickly as possible, while adhering to the return to work protocol. Options being introduced include a combination of additional staff, extended and additional operating hours (i.e. Sundays where needed), and the provision of overtime.

The NDLS booking system is undergoing software changes to cater for the expanded booking window associated with the additional NDLS appointment slots, with testing commencing this week.

The introduction of these steps may help ease some of the pressure on the NDLS, free up appointment slots and make it easier to find those slots at local centres. The RSA is continuing work with my Department to expand the current online facility to accommodate all driving licence and learner permit application types. Once the necessary legal amendments are in place, this should greatly reduce appointment delays.

Currently, applications by post can be made by persons over the age of 70 with one year licences, but the RSA is examining how the postal system might be expanded to handle greater numbers of postal applications.

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