2026-03-18

Níl aon ghá dom a rá leis an Aire cé chomh tábhachtach is atá an t-ábhar seo, go mbeidh an teastas tiomána ar fáil do dhaoine ar fud na tíre, go háirithe i nGráinseach an Déin agus Dún Laoghaire, áit a bhfuil an liosta feithimh chomh fada. The importance of the availability of driving tests cannot be understated. The reality is that when the test is not available in a timely fashion, people are delayed in taking up work positions sometimes, or availing of positions in work. They might not be able to get to college. Families are driving around with adult children because they cannot be driving unsupervised. This causes disruption for families, individuals and businesses. We as a polity had decided that we were going to improve this because there was a particular crisis over a year ago. The service level agreement set 10.5 weeks as the time period we would aim for. Now in Dún Laoghaire, the average waiting time for a driving test is 21 weeks. That is the average waiting to be invited to come for a test. It does not mean you get the test after 21 weeks. Anecdotally from the many people who are contacting my office about this issue, people are waiting 30 weeks and more. It just is not good enough. Not just do we have the longest waiting periods in Ireland, with the average still double what it should be under the service level agreement with the driver testing service, but there are now 5,356 people waiting for tests in Dún Laoghaire as of last month. It is an extraordinary number of people. Since January 2025, it has never been lower than 4,500 people waiting for tests. I acknowledge that progress has been made because that 21-week period has come down quite a bit. That is because halfway through last year the Minister's Department tripled the number of testers available in Dún Laoghaire from three to nine, and that is really welcome. It brought down the period, as I said. Still, however, in February 2025, 763 tests were carried out by three testers, but, strangely, in February 2026, last month, there were only 1,167 tests conducted by nine testers. I do not understand how the mathematics of that worked, but the reality is that we still have a major problem. We announced in April of last year that the new Sandyford testing centre would be open. There are apparently still negotiations going on around the lease there, so progress has not been made. Progress needs to be made. I call on the Minister now to commit to prioritising Dún Laoghaire and Deansgrange in terms of dealing with that exorbitantly long waiting list for people who need the right to do their test, the right to progress and the opportunity to get on with it. All they are waiting for is the opportunity to do that test. What can be done? Obviously, we can again increase the number of testers. We have seen how effective that was. More importantly, perhaps, we can lengthen the hours. The location of this centre is just off Pottery Road, literally around the corner from where I grew up. It is a busy road, and at either end of the road there are quite congested conjunctions, so, necessarily, the number of tests is constrained by the traffic in that area. However, as we come into the summer now and the clocks change later this month, we can have tests later in the evenings, at the weekends, seven days a week. We can use that time to stretch it out, to make the best use of time and the best use of the nine testers we currently have assigned to that centre. Most importantly, however, I would like to hear from the Minister a commitment that we will change and turn around this 21-week period, which is double what it should be, and reduce it in jig time and make sure that the people of my area, as well as the broader south Dublin area, have an opportunity to do the test in a timely way and get on with things.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht a cheist ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo. Aontaím leis go ndéanfaimid ár ndícheall chun feabhsú agus dul chun cinn a dhéanamh ar son na ndaoine i nDún Laoghaire. I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. The Deputy will be aware that under the Road Safety Authority Act, the RSA has statutory responsibility for this. We all know that. Reducing driver testing wait times has been a key priority for the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and me, and I thank Deputy Ward for acknowledging that there has been progress across the board. In that regard, last May the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, directed the RSA to produce and publish a service recovery plan to return the national average wait time to ten weeks by the beginning of September 2025. Nationally, that has been achieved, but that is little consolation for people in Dún Laoghaire. The current national average waiting time is now 11.5 weeks, slightly above the SLA of ten weeks. I am informed by the RSA that it continues to focus on addressing centres with higher demand and wait times. The latest information provided to me by the RSA, in advance of the Deputy's question, indicates that as of 7 March the average waiting time for a driving test in Dún Laoghaire-Deansgrange was 21 weeks. I agree with the Deputy that that is not acceptable. It does mark a significant improvement on 35 weeks but it is still well above the target ten-week average wait time. I expect the RSA to continue to work to bring the wait time in this centre into line with the ten-week target as soon as possible. The Minister of State, Deputy Canney, has met with RSA senior management regularly on their delivery of the driver testing service recovery plan over recent months and he has emphasised the importance of opening new testing locations to relieve pressures in high-demand areas. I am informed by the authority that the new test centre in Sandyford is at the final stages of preparation and the assigned testers are presently deployed to a nearby centre in readiness for its opening while ensuring testing volumes continue to be managed effectively. I understand, however, that the RSA is just one party to the agreement of leases and that private landlords must also go through their due diligence and assurance processes. I will be very straight with the Deputy. I have a degree of frustration in putting this answer on the floor because we have been aware of this issue with regard to the new test centre for some time. On foot of the Deputy's intervention this evening, I will personally make contact with the Minister of State, Deputy Canney. I will see him in the morning. We need to see how we can expedite this. The new centre in Sandyford will help to relieve some of the pressure on Dún Laoghaire, but if we do not have a firm date for when that is to be open, it is all very well to say that. This needs to be concluded as soon as possible. As the Deputy mentioned, in September we conveyed sanction for an additional 70 driver testing posts on a permanent basis, bringing the total permanent sanction to 200, which represents a doubling of posts since June 2022. As of 7 March, 194 testers were in place, and that again is a big increase. As the Deputy rightly said, there are nine driver testers based in the Dún Laoghaire-Deansgrange test centre. As regards the point the Deputy made about the number of tests we are getting through, which is not in any way to criticise the work being done, we have to see what the reason for that is, where there is a tripling of resources but not a tripling of output. There can be good reasons for that, so I want to look into that. The Deputy highlighted a very serious issue whereby this driver testing centre is way beyond the agreed national SLA of ten weeks and even on the current average now of 11.5 weeks. I will raise this directly with the Minister of State, Deputy Canney. I will speak to the RSA myself on foot of Deputy Ward's question.

Again, I acknowledge the work that has been done and the commitment the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, have shown to this and the progress that has been made. I also acknowledge what the Minister said, that it is cold comfort to the people waiting 21 weeks that the national average has come down to 11.5 weeks, but I welcome those changes. I also agree with his statement that I am not criticising individual testers. They probably work under a pretty difficult situation. As I said, the area where this testing centre is located is pretty congested. I suspect that is what is slowing down the progress in tests, but maybe that can be addressed. Maybe there is an issue that can be addressed there. The Minister has identified that there are testers assigned to the Sandyford centre. That is welcome. It is, I agree with him, frustrating both that it has not opened and that we do not know when it will open. If there are people assigned, is it the case then that they could temporarily be assigned to Dún Laoghaire and Deansgrange? That might be part of the solution, or they might even be able to work from there to help. In addition, could the Minister commit to looking at lengthening the hours during which tests can take place, particularly as we get into longer days after the clocks change? I think there is a capacity there to increase the number of tests taking place per week, particularly if the testers are there. That can also deal with the fact that they might be facing congestion in the area at particular times. I appreciate both the fact that the Minister has acknowledged the problem and the fact that he is here to deal with the issue himself. We do not often see senior Ministers in for Topical Issues, so I appreciate his commitment to this issue. It is an important issue, and the reason I raise it, which I know he understands, is that there are so many people in my area - as I said, over 5,000 - waiting for these tests who are significantly inconvenienced by the delay. They cannot take up jobs, they cannot drive themselves to college and they cannot get the mobility they need. That is why it is important. I appreciate what the Minister said about raising this issue with the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, tomorrow. I appreciate the commitment and acknowledge the progress that has been made. I just hope we can redouble our efforts to continue that progress and specifically target the unnecessarily long waiting lists in Dún Laoghaire.

The RSA has indicated that overtime and bank holiday testing will continue throughout the course of this year. As the hour changes later this month, we can look at whether there is potential to do that further. In relation to the assignment of those new testers who will be going to the Sandyford centre, I will ask that specific question as to whether they can be used in the interim period. I know there is a training element where they are at the moment. I will certainly check that. I will speak to the Minister of State, Deputy Canney. He has done a really good job on this, and I assure Deputy Ward that he has met with the RSA senior management regularly. We were able to pull this back nationally to about ten weeks and now it is up to 11.5 weeks, so we have to watch that trend. There has been a significant increase in applications nationwide, with about 25% more applications received by the end of February compared with the same period last year. We also see an increase in applications across the board, but there has specifically been a rise in demand for tests from holders of a third or subsequent learner permit. I think that is on foot of the changes the Government will bring forward. That in itself is to be welcomed but it certainly puts more pressure on the system. In summation, I will raise these matters directly with the RSA on the Deputy's behalf. I will speak to the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, tomorrow specifically about this to see what focus can be given, particularly for this centre, and - again, not in any way to criticise the good work that has been done by those who are providing the tests - why this centre is so out of kilter with the national average. That needs to be looked at and addressed, and I will revert directly to the Deputy.