Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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69. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if the case of a person awaiting a driving test (details supplied) can be considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39505/24]

James Lawless (Kildare North, 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. This includes all application and scheduling matters and neither I nor my department have the power to intervene in individual cases.

The RSA operates a fair and transparent appointment scheduling process. Those who are eligible and have been waiting the longest are offered a test first.

Urgent tests are available to applicants who are employed by the HSE, a private hospital or the emergency services where the candidate would need to drive as part of their job (not including commuting to their place of work). Information on who can apply for an emergency test is available at: www.rsa.ie/services/learner-drivers/the-driving-test/faqs

To further assist with reducing waiting times, in October last year a change was made to the booking system to allow any unused test slots to be made available for candidates to take up at short notice. If a driving test is cancelled at short notice, the RSA now make this appointment available to the general public on the MyRoadSafety (www.rsa.ie/online-services/myroadsafety) portal.