Danny Healy-Rae warns of six-month driving test waits in Kerry

Ministers, I am glad to get the opportunity to ask you here tonight about the problem that we have in Kerry with the delay in youngsters getting their driving tests. This is a very important issue where youngsters, boys and girls, have to wait for up to six months now to get that driving test and this is a very serious issue because this is far too long for a young learner driver to have to wait. In particular in rural areas of Kerry where there is no option of public transport, driving is the only option. Many young people cannot take up job offers or apprenticeships or college courses as they would have to have a parent or a brother or a sister or a grandparent to drive them to and from wherever they need to go, even with their air plates on. This is not practical because everyone is busy and in the island of today everyone is busy doing their own jobs and time is very precious. On top of that then, doing the test is a very costly process. A learner driver must first pass a theory test, do a minimum of 12 lessons before they can apply for a test. The delay of getting a driving test means that they are paying higher insurance costs for longer. There are currently only two driving centres. This is the other issue in Kerry, Killarney and Tralee, and Kerry is badly in need of another driving centre down south in Carrasavine, tis 50 miles away from Killarney and a long ways away from Tralee as well. In response to my recent PQ, I was advised that the RSA is increasing testing capacity and the Department of Transport has sanctioned an additional 70 permanent ports for driver testers last September. Holy God, Minister, I'm asking you where are the 70 testers? I mean, tis worse the thing is getting. Day by day it is getting worse. And I raised this at this time last year, exactly, and we were told that there were 30 new testers below in the Raktus Committee. There were 30 new testers being appointed, I don't know who this man from the driving test, from the RSA was or whatever. He said that the very motion was being centred around Dublin. Dublin has all kinds of public transport which we don't have in rural parts of Kerry. And I'm asking the Minister to do something about this now, which is worse to get during the summer months because these fellows go on holidays too, like everyone else, and the six months will become eight months. I know what happened last year as well. So something has to be realistic, has to be done. I'll give you examples. I have young fellows and girls who want to go to work doing apprenticeships, and many of them can't go to colleges. And we have another thing that's tugging up the system. We have people that leave Kerry, leave a place like Baradouf and go over to the USA for some number of years. When they come back, and it is not more than 10 years or anything like it, when they come back if their licenses ran out while they were away, they have to do the whole thing back over again. I had a man that came home from Scotland, he thought he could cash in his licenses, that he had lorry licenses, boss licenses to drive anything, diggers, bulldozers and everything, and he can't get his licenses changed here. What is he doing? He's about 59 or 60 years of age, he's going after Australia now again, because they will take them there, and likewise, Ireland will recognize the Australian licenses, but they won't recognize American or other places. That's absolutely ridiculous, they're tugging up the system. I am glad you raised this question, because it is a problem right across the country, and I understand your frustration. Just to give you the outline first, I suppose, to say that the Road Safety Authority Act 2006 gives the statutory responsibility for the National Driver Test Service to the RSA. At the end of April, the current 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 and a half weeks. It is what you are telling me, it is the truth. This is fair above the acceptable service level agreement target of 10 weeks. I would like to assure you, Deputy, that measures are being taken to address this issue. As the population has grown in recent years, the demand on driver testing service has similarly increased. In 2014, 2014, being the busiest year in the history of the service, the service conducted over 250,000 driving tests with an increase from over 196 in 2023. This increase in demand for driving tests and the time to invite the invitation for learner testers has a number of contributing factors. This includes an increase in learner permits in circulation, increased capacity on the driver theory test and an increase in advanced driving instructor's capacity to deliver lessons to learner drivers. My Department has sought to support the RSA in meeting rising demands through a number of staffing sanctions in recent years. Just recently, in September 2024, the Department sanctioned an additional 70 permanent positions for driver testers. This increases the total permanent testers from 200 to 200, which represents a doubling of the testers since June 2022. As a condition of this sanction, the RSA were required to put a plan in place to restore the 10-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 with the RSA last week to discuss this issue, and I instructed the authority to return in two weeks with sustainable proposals which will provide a faster resumption to the service level agreement of 10 weeks. The recruitment process for additional testers is well underway, with the first launch 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 is also additional morning and evening test lots offered, where daylight allows. This has been the case since the current backlog of driving lessons started to build up. To further assist in reducing the 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 long term it is intended that the RSA will be reformed consequent to a Government decision in 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 of relevant stakeholders is tasked with developing a comprehensive implementation plan, including required legislation to ensure the reform delivers road safety benefits and improved customer experience. I would like to assure the Deputy that I am engaging with the RSA in proposals to reduce the time to ten weeks on an ongoing basis. Thank you. Minister, thank you very much for your reply. But look, I had the very most of that in an answer to my PQ a number of weeks ago. And we are still the same way. And we were the same way last year when I raised the bill once on the Raptors Committee. And the truth is, Dublin has been seen after, but places like Kerry are not. That's the God's Gospel truth. And all the children of the country and all the youths of the country must be treated equally. And the people in Kerry are not being treated the same as the people up here. And they have all kinds of public transport up here. But I am saying that he knows, and if he wants to be, if they can carry out the test in ten weeks, surely after the candidate doing 12 driving lessons and all that he is required to do, the theory test and everything, surely they should be left driving away, give them an amnesty until the test comes so. Because these youngsters need to get going. We were all young wanted. We wanted to get out on the road and safely and carefully. And these people can do it and they have to be trusted. They have to be trusted and give them the chance to go to work, to go to college. The uncle from Cordell wanted to go back to Milke's uncle's cause because something happened to the uncle. Six or seven months, a country road. He can't do it because he's been waiting for ages and ages to be called for the test. There he is and the uncle badly needs him and the nephew can't go to help him. And it's not fair that he'll have to do something like, if the RSE aren't able to respond, if they aren't able to do the job, something else has to be done in the meantime. Give the young fellows that have their lessons done and everything, and their theory test and everything, give them the chance, give them one chance. And that will more or less than to drive carefully. Give them an amnesty to drive until they're called for the test. And that will be a fairer way of doing it because the system that you have is out of all order. It has gone beyond, beyond. We're at it now for three years. I was at it as hard as this last year. And I challenged the man from the RSE who said they were giving the most of the Tottenham Porsche to Dublin. That's not fair. We haven't seen any of the 70 that were supposed to be taken on last September. There's no sign of them down in Kerry. It was actually getting worse. And as I talked with the stat, as I talked with the stat, come July and all, in August, the fellows that we're supposed to have, there'll be no account of them because they'll be gone on holidays. And the young fellows will be there on the side of the road with them to go. Right. Ara, concretely. Thank you. In fairness, Deputy, I recognise and feel your frustration because I know it and I feel it myself in my own constituency. I have people contacting me saying that their test has been postponed up to five or six times. Young people, healthcare workers, the whole shoot match, they're all there. What I would want to assure you, Deputy, is that I'm treating this as an emergency. I've met with the RSA last week and I've asked them to come back to me with firm proposals on what's going to be happening next week. I will be working with them on a very close basis to make sure that we get improvements. We have to maintain the integrity of the driving test and to make sure that everybody's safe on the road. I hear your suggestion in relation to giving an amnesty, but I think under current regulations and rules that may not be feasible. But I can assure you that all options are being considered to try to help address the backlog that's there. It's not right. The service is not right. And it needs to be rectified. So what I would say to you, Deputy, is I thank you for expressing the way you've expressed the frustration you have down in Kerry. And that's a right across the country, sadly. And I will work to make sure that we get it rectified in conjunction with the RSA. And at the end of the day, we want to make sure we have a service that will deliver tests within 10 weeks. It is very important. And the money has been allocated for these new testers to be trained up. The issue with it is they have to be trained and then they have to be brought out to do the testing. And I'm looking at all a variety of options to try and speed up that process so that we have as many people out testing as possible. And that no place in the country will be waiting more than 10 weeks for a test. That is my aim and ambition, and to get that done as quickly as possible. So I will be working with the RSA to make sure that we deliver that for you. Thank you, Deputy.