51 week wait for driving test in Dún Laoghaire, Dáil told

The wait for driving tests across Dublin was raised by various Dublin TDs in the Dáil last week.

A motion was submitted by the Rural Independent Group in the Dáil, and raised the issue surrounding the long wait for driving tests.

Figures presented to the Dáil by Independent TD Michael Collins showed that the average waiting time for driving tests in Ireland is 30.4 weeks, with the Dún Laoghaire/Deansgrange test centre experiencing the longest waiting time at 51 weeks.

The Cork TD said the root of this crisis is a result of “unfulfilled Government commitments.”

“In April, promises that an additional 75 driver testers would be recruited were made. these commitments, however, have yet to materialise,” Collins said.

“An objective analysis of driving test services reveals the service is undoubtedly in turmoil. Waiting times are more than three times the official targets. Despite the official target of the RSA being underpinned by a service level agreement, SLA, of a ten-week waiting period, learners currently face an average wait of 30 weeks for a test. This chronic delay is particularly detrimental for young people who rely on their licences for daily commuting to work and college.”

Minister of State Jack Chambers conceded that waiting lists were well above his department’s target of 10 weeks and was “unacceptable”, but noted that driving tests are up 25% from this time last year, and more driving instructors are consistently being hired.

“My role as Minister of State has been to ensure we resource the issue, recruit additional testers and bring the wait time down. That is what I am seeking to do. I know this has been an issue for many Deputies, their constituents and citizens more broadly who have not been able to get a test,” he said.

Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly repeated Chambers’ claims that the waiting lists are “unacceptable,” saying the waiting lists put people at a disadvantage. 

The backlog is causing people not to be able to take up new jobs and it is impacting students driving to college or to apprenticeships; it is costing young people their apprenticeships and it is hurting workers and families,” she said. 

O’Reilly “if someone in my constituency, Dublin Fingal, were to book a test, he or she would be left waiting until April to be called for Finglas and until March to be called for Dundalk. A six- or seven-month wait to sit a driving test for a driver who has already spent a significant amount of time undertaking all the necessary lessons is really unacceptable.”

She further claimed that “every aspect of driving is now impacted by the delays. There are waiting lists for theory tests, driving tests and the national car test. It is a mockery at this stage.”O’Reilly’s fellow Fingal TD Duncan Smith also voiced his frustration at the delays, but said the delays highlight the need for a “robust” public transport system across Ireland.

“For a lot of people in my constituency, which is in Dublin and close to Dublin, they are relying on a bus service. We have no rail service or high-capacity service such as MetroLink. There is a need to drive to work, therefore.”

“Many people in north County Dublin work along the M50, in one of the industrial centres off it, and there is no direct bus route to that; they need to get in their cars. We are not protecting workers or ordinary families, therefore, by failing to deliver on public transport. We are forcing people to use cars and when they try to access a car and are able to meet the cost of affording a car, they are unable to get a driving test in an acceptable period.”

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said one of his constituents has spent the past six months on a waiting list to go on a waiting list to get a date for his driving test, and was advised that when he gets onto this next list to do his test, he could be waiting another six months. 

“I am obviously not advocating that people should drive without a licence but we should recognise the reality that when the waiting lists are this long, it is inevitable that some people will feel they have no other option than to drive on a learner’s permit.”

“The dogs on the street know that this has been happening for years; it is no way to operate a safe road and transport system,” he said.

“The problem is we all know that every two or three weeks, a motion like this on some issue passes unanimously in the Dáil because the Government does not oppose it. Unfortunately, however, it does not signify any willingness by the Government to actually do anything about it. The Government is simply happy to pass these motions and say, “This stuff is terrible, and something should be done”, but then not look at itself and say, “We are the ones who have the power to do something about it,” he remarked.