LEARNER drivers waiting to take or retake their driving tests face waiting times of up to 19 weeks.
That’s according to Cork North West FF TD Aindrias Moynihan who said the situation was ‘unacceptable’ and has called for measures to be implemented to reduce the wait.
‘A young driver in our constituency was recently told the current wait time for a re-test was 19 weeks. That’s far too long. We need to ensure that the wait times are dramatically reduced,’ Deputy Moynihan said. Minister for Transport, Darragh O’Brien, in response to a query from Deputy Moynihan said that the Department last year had sanctioned an additional 70 permanent positions for driver testers and that the Road Safety Authority (RSA), which has responsibility for the National Driver Testing Service, has been requested to reduce waiting times to a maximum of 10 weeks.
‘As a condition of sanction, my officials have requested that a plan is put in place to restore waiting times to 10 weeks as soon as possible,’ Minister O’Brien said.
‘I understand that recruitment is well underway and additional capacity will enter the service in the coming months, helping to progressively reduce waiting times.’ Deputy Moynihan urged him to press the RSA to complete the recruitment process as soon as possible.
