Waiting time for driving tests in Tallaght still above national average

Local Sinn Féin TD Mark Ward has called for the opening of the promised additional driving test centre for South Dublin.

While new statistics from the Central Statistics Office showed a drop in waiting times for would-be drivers, the figures also revealed that waiting times in Tallaght are more than double the national average – 34 weeks, compared to the national average of 16.8.

The Dublin Mid-West TD acknowledged that while waiting times are “moving in the right direction, more needs to be done to bring them down to the statutory waiting time of 10 weeks.”

“More also needs to be done to bring down the extremely long wait times for constituents in South Dublin,” he said.

Ward said “I am calling for the promised additional driving test centre to be progressed without delay.”

“I have been calling for a new test centre to be opened in South Dublin when dozens of constituents contacted me about receiving waiting times of more than 6 months.”

Ward said he received confirmation from the RSA in March that an additional test centre would be opening up in South Dublin, but there was ambiguity over the exact timetable.

He said the timetable “must be progressed” to tackle the long waiting times that is plaguing Southsiders.”

“So many rely on being able to drive for work and education, and even with wait times moving in the right direction, 34 weeks is still far too long.”

“The latest response I have from the Minister for Transport for early July is that the national average is down to 14 weeks; Tallaght cannot be left to be 20 weeks longer than the national average,” he said.

“I want to see movement on the new driving test centre in South Dublin, it must be opened as soon as possible; I will continue to raise this issue, for as long as it takes to bring down waiting times.”

Sarah O’Connor, RSA Director of Partnerships and External Affairs, said “the steady reduction in waiting times shows that our plan is working.”

“We’ve made real progress, but we know there’s more to do. With new testers coming on board and new centres opening, we’re committed to keeping this momentum going and reaching our 10-week target by September.”

The national average waiting time for a driving test at the end of April was 27 weeks; the reduction has shown improvement across the nation, but not for Tallaght residents.