Driving Licence test waiting times are three times their official target with 71,554 individuals awaiting an invitation to book their driving tests. Tallaght TD Paul Murphy calls on the government to expedite the recruitment of additional driver testers and implement a plan to ensure we are meeting the official target of a 10-week waiting period.
The Dail discussed a motion on Driving Test Waiting Times on Wednesday the 18th of October. The motion detailed how waiting times to book your driver’s license test are now at three times their official target, an increase of 61 per cent over the last year reaching a staggering total of 71,554 individuals awaiting an invitation to book their driving tests.
Speaking on the Private Member’s Motion, Paul Murphy TD explained how a constituent from the Tallaght area; “has spent the last 6 months on a waiting list to go on a waiting list to get a date [for his driving test]. He has been advised that when he gets onto the next list to do his test, he could be left waiting another 6 months”.
The People Before Profit TD went on to ask the government to take immediate action to expedite the recruitment of additional driver testers and implement a plan to ensure that the official target of a maximum of a 10-week waiting period is met. Currently, the national average waiting time for a driving test has now reached 30.4 weeks with people in some parts of the country facing a wait of nearly a year to sit their driving tests. Even the shortest waiting time nationally in Longford, with an 18-week waiting period is still well over the official RSA target.
The Chief Operations Officer at the Road Safety Authority committed that the driving test waiting time will be in line with the official target of ten weeks by the middle of next year. He has also pledged that the waiting time for an NCT will be reduced to a contractual agreement of 12 days by the end of 2023.
