Danny Healy-Rae: Six-month driving test delays in Kerry
Danny Healy-Rae raised concerns about long driving test delays in Kerry, saying waiting times have stretched to around six months and leaving people stranded without licences. He urged that if some driver testing can continue for essential workers, testing should be able to continue more broadly.
Driving test delays
He told the Taoiseach he had raised the matter late last year and thanked him for an intervention that briefly improved the situation, but said conditions have deteriorated and waiting times now look like six months.
Impact on essential workers and rural drivers
He said essential workers who can provide a letter are sometimes accommodated, but staff have sent people home even when slots existed because they deemed the tests non-essential. He cited local areas - Kelani and Chile especially, and places like Valindsa, Balindsgelligs, Brasna and Arginnib Ghyllet - where people are left stranded without licences and unable to get to work.
Government response and staffing
The Taoiseach acknowledged the issue and noted that provision was made for essential tests. He said 40 temporary driver testers have been hired and 36 were approved for retention or rehire in 2020, with recruitment ongoing, while the department reports potential waiting lists of about 25 weeks for applicants.
Pandemic challenges and outlook
The Taoiseach warned the global pandemic and the arrival of a more transmissible variant have complicated service delivery. He said these challenges will remain for some time and that there is no easy answer to resolving the backlog promptly.
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Taoiseach, I raised with you, late last year, the delay of driving tests in Kerry, and Kelani and Chile especially. I wish to thank you for your intervention at that time. Things improved then, but things now are worse than ever again. Looking forward, it looks like we have a six-month delay in getting our waiting time to get a driving test. And you see, the problem is essential workers, where they can provide a letter saying that is for essential need, that driving test is, they will be accommodated. But they're sending people home even, that there's a slot there, they have sent people home deeming that it wasn't essential. And you see, what I say to you, Taoiseach, the word essential, we must deal with that. And if the driver tests are able to do some testing, they should be able to do all of them. Because if you're in a place like Valindsa, Balindsgelligs, Brasna, Arginnib Ghyllet, you're stranded without your license. You can't go to work. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hold on now. We hear you. Deputy, you've made the point. Yeah, I think the, I understand the issue that the deputies have raised. But I have to say, we are in the middle of a global pandemic. There is no easy answer to this. And whilst provision was made for, you know, essential, you know, people who need tests for essential purposes and so forth, and those involved in essential services, additional staff has been hired, 40 temporary driver testers have been hired, 36 approved for retention or rehire in 2020 for the recruitment is going on. Waiting times have increased significantly. People applying today face a potential waiting list of 25 weeks now, according to the department. My own sense is that we're going to, this is a challenging issue and will remain challenging for quite some time because of the changing nature of the virus, the arrival of the variant. I said this for a number of weeks, the variant is going to have an impact on a lot of areas of life, given the higher level of transmission and transmissibility. We've got to get that into our heads in terms of how we roll out services. And it does create the kind of challenges that the deputies have referred to. But these issues are not going to be resolved simply. Thank you very much.
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