Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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190. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when a person (details supplied) will be offered a driving test appointment, given they urgently require a licence to meet the entry requirements for a college course commencing September 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27084/25]

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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As Minister of State for International & Road Transport, Logistics, Rail & Ports, I wish to advise that, 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. As such, the information requested is held by the Authority.

I have therefore referred the Deputy's question to the RSA for direct, detailed reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days.

The Deputy may wish to note that urgent tests are only 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.

Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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191. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the steps being taken to reduce driving test waitlist times; if steps being are being taken to accommodate students who require licences as part of their education courses (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27087/25]

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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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. In that regard, the operation of the service does not fall under the direct control of my Department.

I acknowledge that current waiting times for driving tests are far in excess of what is acceptable and I would like to assure the Deputy that this is a priority issue for me and that measures are being taken to return the service to the agreed 10 week waiting period.

The RSA has now published a comprehensive action plan to return the target average driver testing wait time to 10 weeks by early September. This plan sets out in detail the actions that will be taken by the RSA to achieve this goal. The plan also includes targets which the RSA is required to report on fortnightly. Should any deviations from projected timelines arise, these must be immediately raised with my Department. I have also instructed the RSA to make contingency preparations to deal with any potential slippages that might emerge in relation to this timeline. Work is already underway on the development of these measures, which should be ready to be activated as quickly as possible if the need arises.

The detailed plan is available at RSA Driving Test Action Plan. www.rsa.ie/docs/default-source/services/s1.5-driving-test/driving-test-action-plan-fv.pdf?sfvrsn=5bf1c72d_0

To support the RSA in increasing testing capacity and improving service delivery, in September 2024 my Department sanctioned an additional 70 permanent positions for driver testers. This increases the total permanent sanction for testers to 200, which represents a doubling of permanent posts since June 2022.

The recruitment process is underway, with the first tranche of new testers now deployed into service. As additional testers enter the system, testing capacity will increase and progress should be seen on reducing waiting times in the months ahead.

While the long-term fix to this issue will be the recruitment and onboarding of new driver testers in the months ahead, the RSA has put in place other immediate measures to try to alleviate the current pressures in the system. The Deputy may wish to note that testing capacity has been extended to include evening, weekend and Bank Holiday slots and testing hours have been extended to include additional morning and evening test slots .This has been the case since the current backlog in driving tests started to build up. As part of the RSA's action plan a revised and incentivised overtime scheme is also underway, with testers delivering additional tests across extended timeframes to meet urgent demand.

The driver testing booking system has also been updated to allow for any unused test slots to be made available for candidates to take up at short notice. This change to the system has brought the percentage of testing slots utilised up to 98%, having historically averaged around 95%. The RSA makes these appointments available for candidates to book on the MyRoadSafety portal and I would encourage learner drivers awaiting a test to monitor this channel which may provide an opportunity to book an earlier testing date.