Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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218. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when a person (details supplied) will receive a driver test date in Donegal town; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42646/20]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The scheduling of driving tests is the responsibility of the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and I have no power to intervene in individual cases.

The  Deputy should be aware that the Road Safety Authority cannot schedule applicants for a driving test until the Authority has received the confirmation from the candidate's ADI Instructor that they have the completed 12 Essential Driver Training (EDT) sessions.  Under Level 5 of the COVID plan, in the interest of public health, driving tests were restricted only to essential workers, while driving lessons were limited to those with a test booking.  However, following the move to Level 3, that is no longer the case and lessons may now be obtained from an authorised driving instructor.

 If the person has completed their 12 EDT sessions, they may wish to request an urgent test. The Road Safety Authority has advised it is prioritising driver testing for essential workers and has set up a dedicated webform on its website www.rsa.ie. This webform will allow customers to assess whether they qualify for an urgent test appointment and if so, to submit an application for same. If the applicant’s request is accepted, they will be placed on a short notice list.