Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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446. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason driving test centre waiting times (details supplied) are lagging behind the national average of 10.4 weeks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47297/25]

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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447. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the specific actions being taken to reduce the waiting times for a driving test at a centre (details supplied)) in line with the national average of 10.4 weeks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47298/25]

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 446 and 447 together.

Under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for the National Driver Testing Service, this includes all testing and scheduling matters. Accordingly, the information requested is held by the RSA.

Given the RSA's responsibility in this matter, I have referred the Deputy's questions to the RSA for direct, detailed response. Please contact my office if a reply is not received within ten days.

Pending this response, the Deputy will be aware that reducing driving test wait times has been one of my key priorities since taking office. To that end I directed the RSA to produce and publish a service recovery plan to meet the 10-week average national waiting time target by September.

I am pleased to report that as of 22 August, the national average waiting time for a Category B driving test stood at just over 10 weeks, with 41 test centres reporting wait times of less than 10 weeks. This represents a marked improvement from the 27-week average reported at the end of April.

To support the RSA in meeting demand for driving tests, my Department sanctioned up to 70 additional driver tester posts in September 2024, doubling the permanent allocation to 200 compared to July 2022. As of early September, a total of 195 permanent testers are employed, with offers issued to an additional five candidates in order to reach the fully sanctioned operational capacity. This represents a significant increase from the 151 testers in place at the beginning of the year, a figure which included individuals on fixed-term contracts. Furthermore, as the onboarding process concludes, testing capacity previously allocated to training activities will be reallocated to the delivery of driving tests.

Finally, the Deputy may wish to note that the RSA is reporting to me on progress against its plan on a fortnightly basis and is publishing progress reports on its website. The plan and progress reports can be found at the following link: www.rsa.ie/services/learner-drivers/the-driving-test/test-waiting-times

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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448. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason a test centre (details supplied) is still included in official statistics despite not being operational since 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47299/25]

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, including information provided for the CSO website. Accordingly, the information requested is held by the RSA.

Given the RSA's responsibility in this matter, I have referred the Deputy's question to the RSA for direct, detailed response. Please contact my office if a reply is not received within ten days.