24 week wait at test centre needs attention, says Sherlock
Driving test applicants from the North Cork area face a minimum wait of 24 weeks according to the latest data by the Road Safety Authority released to Cork East TD, Sean Sherlock.
“The wait times in all centres are extraordinary, once again,” said Deputy Sherlock. “However, Mallow is the only test site in North Cork and a 24 week wait is simply too long of a wait for those who need a driving test.
“The idea that applicants should apply to other sites doesn’t hold up to reality when you see the city driver test sites are also estimating a 24 week wait. We need to see the additional driver testers brought back on stream much, much faster than is currently envisaged. At this rate, we will not clear the backlog until well into 2024.”
“Those awaiting a test are now in limbo,” he said.
MANAGING BACKLOG
Deputy Sherlock put the question to the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan in a Parliamentary Question.
In response, Mr Ryan stated: ‘The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for the National Driving Test service. On the broader issue of driver testing delays, the service has been under significant pressure to meet unprecedented demand, which is up 28% on 2021 figures. This increase in demand for driving tests and the time to invitation for learner drivers has a number of contributing factors which include an increase in learner permits in circulation, increased capacity in the Driver Theory Test and an increase in Advanced Driving Instructors capacity to deliver lessons to learner drivers.
‘The Authority has reviewed the demand and capacity of the driver testing service and, following a request for additional resources in March 2023, my Department has now given approval for the recruitment of up to 75 driver testers. This is in addition to the 30 testers who were previously sanctioned in July 2022 and have been fully deployed since end of March 2023. This brings the total number of sanctioned driver tester posts to just over 200.
‘It is expected that once these additional 75 driver testers are recruited, trained and deployed, the backlog for driver testing services will be actively managed such that it will start to reduce from October 2023 and agreed service levels should resume by early-mid 2024.’