TD calls for RSA to appear in front of Transport Committee over wait for driving tests

A Fine Gael TD has called for the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to come before the Transport Committee on the significant increase in waiting times for driving tests.

Michael Murphy, the Chair of the Oireachtas Transport Committee, has urged the RSA to outline plans to address the issue of waiting times when they come before the Transport Committee.

This comes as new centres, more testers and extended opening hours are the ways the RSA plans on cutting wait times for driving tests.

Tallaght in Dublin and Navan in Meath are among the centres with the longest lists however, wait times have already begun to come down.

The RSA aims to have average wait times for a test at 10 weeks, down from 25 weeks last month and the current wait time of 22 weeks.

In a statement, Mr Murphy said: “I welcome that the RSA has today released an action plan on how they will cut waiting times, but we need to examine how we got into this position in the first place with an average waiting time of 27 weeks.

“The RSA has accepted my invitation to come before the committee and I hope they will address questions on the timeline of how this plan will be rolled out. We need details of when these changes will be put in place.

“Plans for accelerating training for new testers, expanding testing hours, and updating the booking system are all welcome, but we need a guarantee that these actions work.

“A 10-week target is very welcome, but we need to see how realistic it is to have this in place by September.

“People waiting for a test are beyond frustrated with these delays. The waiting times to undergo a driving test are really proving to be a barrier to people trying to take up work or education.

“We want to see waiting times back to an average of 10 weeks and I welcome any proposals to do this, but we also need to hear from the RSA how they will prevent this backlog from happening again. It’s completely unacceptable that waiting times ever reached that level.

“I look forward to working with the RSA and speaking with them directly when they appear before the Oireachtas Transport Committee on how they can implement their plans to cut waiting times”,