Almost 100,000 people on driving test waiting list

According to the latest figures from the Road Safety Authority, a total of 99,636 people were waiting on the list as of March 27. Picture: iStock

Almost 100,000 people are now on the driving test waiting list as a result of the Covid-19 restrictions, new figures show.

Under level 5, only driving tests for essential workers are being carried out, while driving lessons can only be provided to essential workers who have a date for their test, creating a backlog that continues to grow.

According to the latest figures from the Road Safety Authority (RSA), a total of 99,636 people were waiting on the list as of March 27.

Of those, some 5,262 were scheduled for an appointment, some 61,635 were waiting for an appointment, while 32,739 were deemed ineligible for a test, mostly because they had not completed their mandatory 12 essential driver training lessons.

The figures varied significantly between testing centres, with three centres – Carrick on Shannon, Kilkenny (O’Loughlin Gaels) and Thurles  – having no tests scheduled.

Tallaght test centre in Dublin had the highest number of people awaiting an appointment, at 6,536, followed by Finglas with 4,241 and Cork (Wilton) centre with 3,414.

The RSA said if there were no Covid restrictions and all customers who were eligible to be tested were offered a test appointment in chronological order, the average waiting time would be close to 25 weeks.

The figures were released to Cork East Labour party TD Seán Sherlock in response to a parliamentary question.

'Massive disconnect'

Mr Sherlock said there was a “massive disconnect” between the RSA and the Government about the need for essential workers to continue lessons, even if they do not yet have a test date.

“We have a lot of people contacting us in relation to the fact that they are essential workers, but that they need to get driving lessons to progress to the testing stage. And the number of ineligible drivers awaiting a test is huge, over 32,000,” he said.

"I don't see any reason why, given that, instructors have been very meticulous about ensuring their own safety and the safety of anybody who's a passenger in their car, in respect of driving tests.” 

He said there was a need to “keep the throughput” of theory tests, driving lessons and driving tests to minimise the “massive backlog”.

Unused capacity

A spokesman for the RSA said the Covid restrictions which permit them only to test essential workers has resulted in unused capacity.

“As tests are only available to essential workers, we have surplus capacity – approximately 20% of appointment slots are unused this week. For that reason, we are able to offer test slots to essential workers almost on-demand,” he said.

The spokesman said the RSA was “communicating directly” with each customer on the waiting list to provide an update on the status of their application.

“When restrictions are lifted, and the driving test is allowed to operate normally again, the RSA will have a new online tool that will allow every customer on the waiting list to see a timeframe on which they can expect to receive their invitation for a test appointment. 

"This should help give some certainty to customers about their status on the waiting list,” he added.

The RSA said it was making “good progress” in recruiting 40 additional testers, and has submitted proposals to the Department of Transport to increase its tester numbers further to tackle the backlog.