Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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15. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the correspondence he has had with the RSA on driver test cancellations; the number of cancellations there have been; if these cancellations will be prioritised when level 5 restrictions have been lifted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35653/20]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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My Department is in constant contact with the Road Safety Authority since the start of the pandemic regarding all of its services, the impact of Covid-19 on those services, and how they can best be maintained in the current circumstances.

As you are aware, car driving tests were first temporarily suspended due to the Covid-19 in March 2020 and since resuming operations in mid-July, there has inevitably been an increased level of demand due to the consequent backlog. Unfortunately, due to social distancing and other public health and hygiene requirements, service capacity has had to be considerably reduced. This means that customers experience longer waiting times than was the case before the service was suspended.

Under Covid Level 5 restrictions which took effect for six weeks from 22 October 2020, driving tests are now only available to those who are involved in essential services, including essential retail work. While I regret the inconvenience caused, public safety must remain of paramount importance.

The Road Safety Authority is currently examining ways of increasing the number of tests within health constraints when driver testing resumes after Level 5, and is working in close consultation with my Department on this matter. This includes increasing the number of testing staff to help reduce and, over time, eliminate the backlog.

My Department has recently approved the retention by the RSA of 18 temporary driver testers whose contracts were due to expire in October and November, and the RSA has also rehired a further 19 temporary testers whose contracts expired in May. This will help to increase testing capacity when services resume. In the longer term the Department is considering proposals by the RSA for further measures to address the backlog.

As the operation of the driver testing service is the statutory responsibility of the RSA, I have referred the part of the question relating to numbers of cancellations and approach to prioritization after Level 5 to the RSA for direct answer.