Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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356. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on the ongoing suspension of the theory test service; and if his Department has considered allowing the return of professional categories such as for taxi drivers and heavy goods vehicle drivers. [15564/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The Driver Theory Test has not been deemed to be an essential service under Level 5 restrictions. The service will remain closed while level 5 restrictions remain in place. No exceptions will be made.  While I fully appreciate the inconvenience this poses, I must emphasise, that this decision has been taken in line with official public health recommendations that everyone in Ireland work to limit the spread of the virus by staying at home in so far as is possible and minimising social contacts.

The RSA, together with its service provider, have put plans in place to increase capacity in the service for when it can re-open.  This will see an increase in capacity from an average pre Covid19 level of 15,000 appointments per calendar month to up to 50,000 when the service resumes. This will help manage the backlog of customers and shorten waiting times.  

In addition to the increased capacity initiative, the RSA is working to deliver an online driver theory test service. The online service has been trialled on a pilot basis for those taking a theory test for trucks and buses and is now being evaluated with a view to extending the online service to all test types during 2021. However, scaling up operations to facilitate higher numbers will take time to achieve.