Níl aon ghá dom a rá leis an Aire cé chomh tábhachtach is atá an t-ábhar seo, go mbeidh an teastas tiomána ar fáil do dhaoine ar fud na tíre, go háirithe i nGráinseach an Déin agus Dún Laoghaire, áit a bhfuil an liosta feithimh chomh fada. The importance of the availability of driving tests cannot be understated. The reality is that when the test is not available in a timely fashion, people are delayed in taking up work positions sometimes, or availing of positions in work. They might not be able to get to college. Families are driving around with adult children because they cannot be driving unsupervised. This causes disruption for families, individuals and businesses. We as a polity had decided that we were going to improve this because there was a particular crisis over a year ago. The service level agreement set 10.5 weeks as the time period we would aim for. Now in Dún Laoghaire, the average waiting time for a driving test is 21 weeks. That is the average waiting to be invited to come for a test. It does not mean you get the test after 21 weeks. Anecdotally from the many people who are contacting my office about this issue, people are waiting 30 weeks and more. It just is not good enough. Not just do we have the longest waiting periods in Ireland, with the average still double what it should be under the service level agreement with the driver testing service, but there are now 5,356 people waiting for tests in Dún Laoghaire as of last month. It is an extraordinary number of people. Since January 2025, it has never been lower than 4,500 people waiting for tests. I acknowledge that progress has been made because that 21-week period has come down quite a bit. That is because halfway through last year the Minister's Department tripled the number of testers available in Dún Laoghaire from three to nine, and that is really welcome. It brought down the period, as I said. Still, however, in February 2025, 763 tests were carried out by three testers, but, strangely, in February 2026, last month, there were only 1,167 tests conducted by nine testers. I do not understand how the mathematics of that worked, but the reality is that we still have a major problem. We announced in April of last year that the new Sandyford testing centre would be open. There are apparently still negotiations going on around the lease there, so progress has not been made. Progress needs to be made. I call on the Minister now to commit to prioritising Dún Laoghaire and Deansgrange in terms of dealing with that exorbitantly long waiting list for people who need the right to do their test, the right to progress and the opportunity to get on with it. All they are waiting for is the opportunity to do that test. What can be done? Obviously, we can again increase the number of testers. We have seen how effective that was. More importantly, perhaps, we can lengthen the hours. The location of this centre is just off Pottery Road, literally around the corner from where I grew up. It is a busy road, and at either end of the road there are quite congested conjunctions, so, necessarily, the number of tests is constrained by the traffic in that area. However, as we come into the summer now and the clocks change later this month, we can have tests later in the evenings, at the weekends, seven days a week. We can use that time to stretch it out, to make the best use of time and the best use of the nine testers we currently have assigned to that centre. Most importantly, however, I would like to hear from the Minister a commitment that we will change and turn around this 21-week period, which is double what it should be, and reduce it in jig time and make sure that the people of my area, as well as the broader south Dublin area, have an opportunity to do the test in a timely way and get on with things.

Sentiment score: 0.15

Again, I acknowledge the work that has been done and the commitment the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, have shown to this and the progress that has been made. I also acknowledge what the Minister said, that it is cold comfort to the people waiting 21 weeks that the national average has come down to 11.5 weeks, but I welcome those changes. I also agree with his statement that I am not criticising individual testers. They probably work under a pretty difficult situation. As I said, the area where this testing centre is located is pretty congested. I suspect that is what is slowing down the progress in tests, but maybe that can be addressed. Maybe there is an issue that can be addressed there. The Minister has identified that there are testers assigned to the Sandyford centre. That is welcome. It is, I agree with him, frustrating both that it has not opened and that we do not know when it will open. If there are people assigned, is it the case then that they could temporarily be assigned to Dún Laoghaire and Deansgrange? That might be part of the solution, or they might even be able to work from there to help. In addition, could the Minister commit to looking at lengthening the hours during which tests can take place, particularly as we get into longer days after the clocks change? I think there is a capacity there to increase the number of tests taking place per week, particularly if the testers are there. That can also deal with the fact that they might be facing congestion in the area at particular times. I appreciate both the fact that the Minister has acknowledged the problem and the fact that he is here to deal with the issue himself. We do not often see senior Ministers in for Topical Issues, so I appreciate his commitment to this issue. It is an important issue, and the reason I raise it, which I know he understands, is that there are so many people in my area - as I said, over 5,000 - waiting for these tests who are significantly inconvenienced by the delay. They cannot take up jobs, they cannot drive themselves to college and they cannot get the mobility they need. That is why it is important. I appreciate what the Minister said about raising this issue with the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, tomorrow. I appreciate the commitment and acknowledge the progress that has been made. I just hope we can redouble our efforts to continue that progress and specifically target the unnecessarily long waiting lists in Dún Laoghaire.

Sentiment score: 0.31