My apologies, I was not here at the very start. I thank Deputy Brady for raising this matter. The Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding regarding the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015, and in line with the national development plan, the operation and management of individual national roads is a matter for TII in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. TII ultimately delivers the national roads programme in line with Project Ireland 2040, the national planning framework and the NDP. The Government has earmarked €5.1 billion for capital spending on new national roads projects from 2021 to 2030 as part of the NDP. This funding will enable improved regional accessibility across the country, as well as compact growth, which are key national strategic outcomes. The funding will provide for the development of numerous national road projects, including the completion of projects which are already in construction stage and those close to it, as well as the development of several other projects. As the greater portion of this funding becomes available in the second half of the decade, there is a constraint on the funding available for new projects in 2025. Approximately €502 million in Exchequer capital funds, however, has been provided for national roads through TII to local authorities in 2025. With regard to the N11 bus priority interim scheme, this important project commenced in October 2021 following the completion of an initial feasibility study. The aim is to provide bus priority measures on the N11 and M11, enabling buses and coaches to avoid congested traffic lanes and reduce the unsustainable dependency on the private car in the short to medium term. The project was allocated €1.45 million for this year to enable it to progress. Wicklow County Council is now working on closing out the preferred option for the combined scheme. The public consultation for the emerging preferred option was held from 12 September to 6 November 2023. I understand from TII that all submissions were considered and detailed traffic modelling was conducted to inform the preferred option. A significant upgrade of junction 7 is proposed that will address the traffic reassignment arising from the impact of closing Herbert Road, which is required to provide bus priority in the hard shoulder between junctions 6 and 7. This is also intended to improve road safety for all users on the N11 and M11. Wicklow County Council has commenced design and environmental evaluation. The option selection report includes the full rationale and detailed assessment carried out in determining the preferred option. The report was published on the project website in April and is now available to view. It is important to highlight the N11 and M11 route is identified within the NTA’s transport strategy for the greater Dublin area, GDA, 2022 to 2042 strategy, as a regional core bus corridor as part of the core bus network. To develop an efficient, reliable and effective bus system, the strategy emphasises the need for the core bus network to be developed to achieve: continuous priority for bus movement on the portions of the core bus network; enhanced bus lane provisions on these corridors; and removal of current delays on the bus network, enabling the bus to provide a faster alternative to car traffic along these routes.

Sentiment score: 0.19

A benefit of doing this project will be to improve the congestion issues faced by road users by increasing capacity on the existing route and identifying opportunities for bus priority measures. This will allow for more reliable and safer journeys for commuters and vulnerable road users. It aims to reduce the frequency and severity of collisions along this route. The proposed project will improve connectivity between Dublin Port and Rosslare Europort, allowing efficient and greater access to international markets from Ireland. In addition, the project may include the provision of improved active transport facilities and opportunities for greater interface with public transport along the N11, which will have positive environmental effects. There are benefits to this project.

Sentiment score: 0.52

The current status of the project is to provide for the bus priority measures, active travel, junction safety and strategic network resilience on the N11-M11 between junctions 4 and 14. This major scheme is at the options selection phase - preferred route open selection. It is important that we look at this in the context that it is being delivered by TII in conjunction with Wicklow County Council. Wicklow County Council considered all submissions received when assessing the various options.

Sentiment score: 0.22

I am glad the Deputy raised this question because it is a problem throughout the country. I understand his frustration. I will first provide an outline. The Road Safety Authority Act 2006 gave statutory responsibility for the national driver test service to the RSA. At the end of April, the average estimated time for invitation to test for a candidate was 25 weeks. I am told the waiting time for invitation to test in Kerry is 23.5 weeks, so what the Deputy said was the truth. This is far above the acceptable service-level agreement target of ten weeks. Measures are being taken to address this issue. As the population has grown in recent years, the demand on driver testing services has similarly increased. In 2024, the busiest year in the history of the service, more than 250,000 driving tests were conducted, up from over 196,000 in 2023. This increase in demand for driving tests and the time to invitation for learner drivers has a number of contributing factors. These include an increase in learner permits in circulation, increased capacity in the driver theory test and an increase in advanced driving instructors' capacity to deliver lessons to learner drivers. My Department has sought to support the RSA in meeting rising demand through a number of staffing sanctions in recent years. Most recently, in September 2024, the Department sanctioned an additional 70 permanent positions for driver testers. This increases the total permanent sanction for testers to 200, which represents a doubling of testers since June 2022. As a condition of sanction, the RSA was required to put a plan in place to restore the ten-week waiting time target as soon as possible. When this plan was first put forward by the RSA, it envisaged a return to the target by November 2025. This is not acceptable given the level of delays already being suffered by learner drivers. I met RSA representatives last week to discuss this issue and instructed the authority to return in two weeks with sustainable proposals which will provide a faster resumption to the service level agreement of ten weeks. The recruitment process for additional testers is well under way, with the first tranche of new testers now being deployed into service. These testers are being assigned to test centres nationwide as the candidates complete their training. As additional testers enter the system, testing capacity will increase and progress should be made on reducing the numbers. The Deputy may be aware that driver testing is offered on Saturdays where driver testers are available to do overtime and there are also additional morning and evening test slots offered where daylight allows. This has been the case since the current backlog in driving tests started to build up. To further assist with reducing waiting times, in October 2023, a change was made to the system to allow any unused slots to be made available for anyone to take up at short notice. If a driving test is cancelled at short notice, the RSA makes this appointment available to candidates on the MyRoadSafety portal. While new testers will bring additional capacity in the short term, in the longer term it is intended that the RSA will be reformed consequent to a Government decision of November 2024. This reform will be carried out on a phased and planned basis. A departmental group led by the Department of Transport and comprising relevant stakeholders is tasked with developing a comprehensive implementation plan, including required legislation, to ensure the reform delivers road safety benefits and an improved customer experience. I assure the Deputy that I am engaging with the RSA on an ongoing basis on proposals to reduce wait times to ten weeks.

Sentiment score: 0.17

I recognise and feel the Deputy's frustration because I know and feel it myself in my own constituency. People contact me to say their test has been postponed up to five or six times. They are young people, healthcare workers, the whole shooting match. I assure the Deputy that I am treating this as an emergency. I met RSA representatives last week and asked them to come back to me next week with firm proposals on what will happen. I will work with them very closely to make sure there are improvements. We have to maintain the integrity of the driving test and make sure everybody is safe on the road. I hear the Deputy's suggestion of giving an amnesty, but under current regulations and rules, that may not be feasible. I assure the Deputy all options are being considered to help to address the backlog that exists. It is not right. The service is not right and it needs to be rectified. I thank the Deputy for expressing the frustration in Kerry the way he has expressed it. It is felt throughout the country, sadly, and I will work to make sure we get this matter rectified in conjunction with the RSA. At the end of the day, we want to make sure we have a service that will deliver tests within ten weeks. It is very important and the money has been allocated for these new testers to be trained up. The issue is that they have to be trained and brought out to conduct the testing. I am looking at a variety of options to try to speed up that process in order that we have as many people as possible out testing and that in no place in the country will people be waiting for more than ten weeks for a test. That is my aim and ambition and I want to get that done as quickly as possible. I will work with the RSA to make sure we deliver that.

Sentiment score: 0.10