Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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279. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will address the lack of resources for bus and truck driver testing (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34294/25]

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that, under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for the National Driver Testing Service. I have therefore referred the question to the RSA for direct, detailed reply and I would ask that the Deputy contact my private office if a reply is not received within 10 days.

Pending this more detailed response, I am informed by the RSA that driving tests for all categories, including trucks and buses, can be booked and continue to be provided. However, the driver testing service is currently experiencing significant pressure. To address this issue on 22 May the RSA published its plan to return the service to its service level agreement target of 10 weeks by September.

The Deputy may wish to note that progress is being made, though wait times remain at an unacceptably high level. As of 14 June the current average wait time for a driving test now stands at approximately 18 weeks. This builds on the progress to the end of May where the average wait time was approximately 21 weeks and is an improvement of almost 9 weeks on the average 27 weeks wait time at the end of April.