There is a commitment in the programme for Government to enhance driver training but this has not been of much comfort to learner drivers who cannot get an appointment for a test. Numbers on the waiting lists for driving tests continue to climb and waiting times grow longer. Several weeks ago, the Road Safety Authority, RSA, pulled the plug on a proposed new driving centre in Sandyford, despite the Minister saying it was mere weeks away from opening. This would have relieved the enormous backlog affecting in Tallaght and Dún Laoghaire tests centres, which are permanently at the top when it comes to the waiting lists. There are 17,000 on the waiting list for the centre in Tallaght. That represents 10% of the State's total number in a network of 60 test centres. I have raised this on a number of occasions, including with different Governments. Could the Tánaiste give the people who rely on the Tallaght and Dún Laoghaire test centres assurances that a new test centre will be opened in south Dublin in 2026? This is something that needs to be tackled. At this stage I have raised it with a number of Governments.

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