Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has expressed his frustration and disappointment after receiving confirmation from the Road Safety Authority that there will be no new driving test centre in south Dublin for the foreseeable future.
In their correspondence, the RSA confirmed that there was not yet a site identified for a new centre after plans for the proposed Sandyford centre fell through earlier this year.
The Dublin South-West TD said, “it is extremely disappointing that I received confirmation from the Road Safety Authority this week that the proposed new driving test centre for south Dublin is not coming any time soon.”
“We had been promised a test centre in Sandyford to relieve the pressure on Tallaght and Dún Laoghaire centres , but that was withdrawn at the last minute and now we face an uncertain future.
“The RSA cannot give a definitive answer as to when they will even have a site identified, let alone testers in place. This is simply not good enough after we were promised a new centre ‘within weeks’ back in 2025 by the Minister for Transport.
“I had raised the matter in the Dáil with An Tánaiste Simon Harris last week and highlighted the great need for a new centre. There are over 17,000 people waiting in Tallaght alone and this figure has not come down despite government assurances of more testers and greater flexibility in testing appointments.
“Nothing is going to bring down the numbers except another driving test centre in south Dublin. There is simply too great a population for such a small number of centres. The people of Tallaght need to know they can get a driving test so that they can access services like employment, education and childcare without the impediment of waiting months for an appointment.”