Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for the Driver Testing service. Consequently, neither I nor my Department have the power to intervene in individual cases.

I believe that the RSA operates a fair and transparent appointment scheduling process such that those who are eligible and have been waiting the longest are offered a test first, while those who fulfil the criteria for being a frontline worker can apply for a emergency test. Full details are available on the RSA website.

On the broader issue of delays, the service has been under significant pressure to meet unprecedented demand, which has increased by 28% compared with 2021 figures. In response to these pressures, the RSA reviewed the capacity of the driver testing service earlier this year and, following a request for additional resources, my department gave approval for the recruitment of up to 75 additional driver testers. This brings the total number of sanctioned driver tester posts to just over 200.

The recruitment campaign is underway and is being managed by the Authority. It is expected that once these additional driver testers are trained and deployed, the backlog for driver testing services will be actively managed such that agreed service levels resume and wait times begin to decline. I have been advised by the Authority that the first newly recruited testers should be deployed in late September.

The additional driver testers will be allocated across the driver testing service with a focus on the geographical areas with the longest waiting times and highest demand for tests.