Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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322. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if a person (details supplied) can get priority for their driving test given they depend on it for work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17751/23]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for all aspects of the National Driving Test service.  This includes test applications and scheduling matters. Neither I nor my Department have the power to intervene in individual cases. 

Prioritised test appointments can be requested through the RSA, for those applicants who are critical frontline workers employed by the HSE, a private hospital or the emergency services and who need to drive in the course of their duties.

Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent)
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323. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the long delays in receiving a date for a driving test (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17755/23]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for all aspects of the National Driving Test service.  This includes test applications and scheduling matters. Neither I nor my Department have the power to intervene in individual cases. 

Prioritised test appointments can be requested through the RSA, for those applicants who are critical frontline workers employed by the HSE, a private hospital or the emergency services and who need to drive in the course of their duties.

On the broader issue of driver testing delays, the service has been under significant pressure to meet unprecedented demand, which is up 28% on 2021 figures. This increase in demand for driving tests and the time to invitation for learner drivers has a number of contributing factors which include an increase in learner permits in circulation, increased capacity in the Driver Theory Test and an increase in Advanced Driving Instructors capacity to deliver lessons to learner drivers.

The Authority has reviewed the demand and capacity of the driver testing service and, following a request for additional resources in March 2023, my Department has now given approval for the recruitment of up to 75 driver testers. This is in addition to the 30 testers who were previously sanctioned in July 2022 and have been fully deployed since end of March 2023. This brings the total number of sanctioned driver tester posts to just over 200.

It is expected that once these additional 75 driver testers are recruited, trained and deployed, the backlog for driver testing services will be actively managed such that it will start to reduce from October 2023 and agreed service levels should resume by early-mid 2024.