THE Road Safety Authority (RSA) has responded to criticism of delays at its newly opened National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) in Clare Hall Shopping Centre.
Dublin Bay North TD Seán Kenny (Lab) said he has received complaints from constituents regarding
“unacceptable delays
? at the centre, which opened on July 22.
Deputy Kenny said the complaints he received included driving licence applicants arriving for their appointments only to be told to come back the following day after waiting several hours.
“This has happened to motorists who have taken time off work, rearranged child care and cancelled other plans to renew their driving licence and is unacceptable,
? Deputy Kenny told Northside People.
“Constituents also tell me that the NDLS staff at Clare Hall are polite and courteous but that the problems relates to the IT system.
“I am calling on the Road Safety Authority to immediately intervene to ensure that this essential public service at Clare Hall Shopping Centre is functioning properly and that the delays are ended.
?
A spokesperson for the RSA said:
“To date, we have received no customer complaints about the new service at Clare Hall Shopping Centre.
“Clare Hall is not one of our busiest centres, and we are currently very satisfied that there is adequate capacity in the centre to meet demand, as well as sufficient availability for both appointments and walk-in slots in Clare Hall Shopping Centre at present.
“However, there was a minor technical issue that impacted all NDLS centres on the August Bank Holiday. We worked to ensure this issue was resolved quickly.
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The spokeswoman said that, unfortunately, there was some inconvenience to customers, particularly on August 1, where some appointments for that day had to be rescheduled.
“We regret any inconvenience this technical disruption caused,
? she stated.
“Aside from this technical difficulty on August 1, the only instance where a customer would be sent away and asked to come back at another time is if they miss their appointment by more than 15 minutes and there are no longer any free slots available.
?
She said a customer would also be sent away if they arrived with a booking but did not have their proper documentation and their application therefore could not be processed.
“To avoid any unnecessary customer delays in NDLS centres nationwide, we have put in place an online booking system to enable our customers to choose a convenient time to visit the centre and minimise any time they might need to wait,
? she stated.
“This allows customers of the NDLS Centre in Clare Hall Shopping Centre, and indeed other NDLS centres, to book an appointment to visit the centre and minimise the time they need to spend there.
“If their local NDLS centre is busy, they can visit any other NDLS centre nationwide.
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The spokeswoman said they also have a system where any customer who has not made an online booking can avail of a walk-in slot at any of its centres.
“Again, to minimise wait times, customers can log onto www.ndls.ie to see what walk-in slots are available in their centre today, the next working day, in the next seven days, and over the coming month,
? she said.
“They can then choose when would be best to attend their local centre to minimise delays.
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The spokeswoman added:
“We are confident that the developments outlined above will significantly enhance the service we are providing to customers at NDLS centres nationwide.
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