I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes, with concern, the huge backlog in those waiting on a driving test, with 72,414 people now in limbo, an increase of over 60 per cent since 2022; is alarmed by the fact that this backlog grew by nearly 10,000 over the last three months; acknowledges that no test centre is meeting the statutory maximum of 10 weeks in the service level agreement (SLA), with many learner-drivers regularly having to wait over six months to sit a test and some waiting as long as eight months; is not reassured that the Road Safety Authority (RSA), who have statutory responsibility for the operational aspects of the national driving test, has the capacity or ability to address these backlogs, and are consistently in breach of their own SLA; is concerned with the continued shortages in driving test instructors, and is not satisfied that recruitment processes since 2022 have been sufficient to address the growing backlog; notes that excessive wait times are especially pronounced for those who rely on a driving licence for educational or employment purposes, including drivers for Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus or paramedics who require a licence prior to entry to the course, delaying the provision of additional services; and acknowledges that the practice of hiring temporary driving test instructors led to a large turnover of testers, leading to a loss of local knowledge and experience; recognises that: — learner drivers are trapped on expensive insurance policies, pushing up the cost of learning to drive to €3,000 in some parts of the country; and — many areas of the country have no driving test centre, with many people having to travel long distances to take a test, and placing upward pressure on already stretched driving test centres around the country; and regrets the closure of permanent and temporary test centres around the country, and the failure of the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the RSA to find new sites; and calls on the Government to: — acknowledge its responsibility to ensure that when demand for public services increase, this must be matched by additional resources to meet demand; — instruct the Minister for Transport to take immediate action to expedite and increase the recruitment of additional permanent driving test instructors; — end the over reliance on hiring temporary driving test instructors; — conduct an urgent review of the capacity of the RSA to address the backlog in driving tests, including its mandate, resourcing, and programme of work; — address the shortfall in driving test centres across the country, and to instruct the OPW and the RSA to urgently identify suitable sites to fill those gaps; and — draft, and implement without delay, a strategic plan to achieve the statutory maximum waiting time of 10 weeks. Driver test delays the length and breadth of the country have reached staggering new peaks. Some 72,414 people are now in limbo, up 60% on 2022. In the past three months, there has been an increase of 10,000. We take no pleasure in the fact that we have again been forced to confront the Government on this issue. I am sure that every Deputy from every constituency - rural and urban - has been contacted by people facing interminable delays. They are trapped in outrageously expensive insurance policies, who must pay more and more for driving lessons while waiting on jobs and courses. There is a deep sense of frustration. People are dependent on having a licence and they are waiting for it. They are also frustrated by the Government's continued failure to address it. This is not a new issue; this crisis has been rumbling on for years. It is another example of a litany of failures by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, and now their coalition partners - the Lowry-led Independents, who must own up to their role in sorting this out. After all, many of the Government-supporting Rural Independent Group were highly critical of these delays when they were in opposition, before they decided to support the Government in exchange for their new positions and salary bonuses, but they forgot to include this important issue in the programme for Government. I hope they still retain the courage of their convictions when they are sitting on the Government benches. One particular issue I want to highlight is the impact the situation is having on young people. As the Minister will be aware, for many young people having a licence cannot be considered to be just an option, it is an absolute necessity, because public transport is either totally non-existent or entirely unreliable in many areas of rural Ireland. Without a valid licence, young people are prevented from going about their daily lives; they are missing out on attending college and unable to take up new jobs, all because they are languishing for months on end on waiting lists. The backlog has also pushed up the cost of learning to drive because learner drivers are trapped in expensive insurance policies for longer than anticipated. They often pay an average of approximately €3,000 per year while they anxiously wait to sit their test. We know that the Government is out of touch, but even it must realise that further driving up costs for young people who can barely afford to make ends meet is hardly the way to entice them to stay in the country. One young constituent of mine in County Kerry has been particularly harmed by the Government's failure to get a grip on this issue. He is the sole carer for his father and he must return every night to look after him. However, without a licence he has been forced to choose between attending college and looking after his father. That is not much of a choice. The Government needs to wake up. It has been asleep at the wheel for too long. I call on the Government to agree to this motion, adopt it, increase resources to meet the demand, hire more permanent instructors, review the role and funding of the Road Safety Authority, RSA, and address the gaps in driver test centres around the country.

Sentiment score: -0.10

I thank all the contributors who spoke tonight and I acknowledge the Government will not oppose the motion but it is unfortunate it is not the first time this issue has been raised. I agree, obviously, when the Government says the figures are unacceptable but it must be deeply frustrating for anybody listening in or watching tonight, including any of the 72,000 people on the waiting lists, the people waiting six to eight months for a driving test, the thousands of people in my county of Kerry, the people who are paying exorbitant, over the top insurance costs and the people paying huge amounts for extra driving tests while they are waiting for the test. It must be deeply frustrating for returning immigrants, immigrants returning from the United States, for example, where they have a full driving licence and who are awaiting a licence for work, so they can take up employment here. Their licences are not recognised here. All the times Government members have gone over there for St. Patrick's Day, can they not sort this small thing out with some sort of agreement with the United States? It must be deeply frustrating for people who cannot access employment, such as employment in crucial front-line services, such as paramedics, ambulance drivers and so on, and for people who are trying to access courses they require in order to take up employment. It must be frustrating for people to hear some of the excuses given tonight. Covid was mentioned, I think, by the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, along with things like the post-pandemic era, public health measures, social distancing and the pandemic era. It must be frustrating to hear that from the Minister when numbers have increased by 60% since 2022, when the restrictions ended. It must also be frustrating to hear the Minister say it is not the Government's problem and the RSA has not dealt with the situation. Those opposite are in government and they are the ones who should have been sorting it out over the past number of years. It reminds me of the delays in security in Dublin Airport where staff were laid off. It became so difficult to hire full-time staff. In essence, that is what we are calling on the Government to do here. There was frustration on our side hearing the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, asking for solutions and saying there was a problem with the solutions offered. We are asking for more full-time instructors, for more resources to be put in and for the Government to take this matter seriously once and for all.

Sentiment score: -0.11