Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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172. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the difficulties fully qualified HGV drivers from outside the State (details supplied) are experiencing in obtaining an appointment with the National Driver Licence Service in order to get an Irish HGV driving licence; if he has plans to further resource the National Driver Licence Service in order to expedite this process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45980/23]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I have been informed by the Road Safety Authority that there are no issues with availability for appointments in National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) centres. NDLS centres across the country have an average of 86.13% free capacity availability for appointments next week and very few booked appointments for the coming six weeks. Therefore, my department has no plans to further resource the NDLS regarding appointment capacity at this time.

The exchange of foreign licences is managed through the NDLS. According to the NDLS, 1,827 South African driving licence exchange applications have been received in 2023 to end August. The average processing time for applications in 2023 is 18 working days.

There can be a variety of reasons for delays in applications, such as outstanding information that is required from the driver, for example, medical/eyesight report, the physical Driving licence, ID, proof of residency entitlement.