Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for the National Driver Testing Service and the information requested is held by that agency. I have therefore referred the question to the RSA for direct, detailed reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response is not received within 10 days.

Regarding the driver testing service more generally, in order to meet unprecedented demand and address testing delays, last year my Department gave approval for the recruitment of up to 75 additional driver testers. By the end of 2023 there was an increase of 41 driver testers allocated across the driver testing service with a focus on geographical areas with the longest waiting times and highest demand for tests. Sanction remains in place for the Authority to increase the number of testers employed.

The national average waiting time for invitation to test has been decreasing since last September, when the first tranche of new recruits were deployed. The current average wait time now stands at 15.6 weeks, which is 50% lower than the peak wait time of 30.4 weeks which occurred in August, last year.

My Department is continuing to work closely with the Authority to monitor demand and capacity requirements of the driver testing service to ensure it meets the agreed service level of average wait times of 10 weeks, which the Authority expects to achieve by mid-2024.