More driving testers being recruited, Cork TD told

Recruitment is underway for more driving testers, a Cork TD has been told, as he said in the Dáil on Thursday that people in Cork are waiting 10 months for tests.

Independent Ireland leader and TD for Cork South West, Michael Collins, told Tánaiste Simon Harris that his office has been “inundated” with requests from constituents seeking assistance in expediting their driving tests.

“These are mostly young people and they are waiting 10 months or more for a driving test. Many of these have secured job offers but are unable to accept them due to the lack of transportation in rural Ireland,” said Mr Collins. 

“We do not have a frequent bus service, the Luas, or regularly available taxis, as urban areas do. Our young people are effectively stranded without access to a car and their parents’ work schedules often do not allow for logistical support.

“We were informed that additional testers would be deployed, yet I am not aware of any new testers in Skibbereen, West Cork,” he added. Mr Collins then suggested temporarily converting driving instructors into testers.

“Surely this would be a feasible solution, or does the Government have a long-term strategy that is being considered to prevent such backlogs from occurring in the future? Immediate and effective measures are required to address this backlog and support our constituents in their daily lives,” he said.

The Tánaiste thanked him for raising the issue and the suggestion he offered, saying: “There is no doubt that this is a serious issue.”

Mr Harris explained that the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has been providing increased test slots compared to 2023, but added: “Let us not fool ourselves. I fully accept that a serious challenge exists.

“The waiting time is meant to be 10 weeks. That is the commitment that was given but in some parts of the country I hear that it can be up to 22 weeks, on average, for many people.”

“The good news is that we are in the process of trying to employ extra testers”, he added.

Mr Harris said the department had sanctioned an additional 70 permanent driver testing posts, which would bring the permanent numbers to 200, a doubling of the number of posts since 2022.

“As a quid pro quo, the RSA has been asked to put in place a plan to restore waiting times to 10 weeks. I am told that recruitment is under way for those extra testers. I am told that 300 applicants have been brought through to the final assessment stage,” Mr Harris added.