Almost 60,000 learner drivers face 10-month wait for tests

Thurles in Co Tipperary has the lowest wait time at 10 weeks.

Up to 60,000 learner drivers are facing waits of up to 10 months to do their driving test.

Those in Dún Laoghaire in Co Dublin face the longest wait for a slot, at 46 weeks, meaning it would be March next year before they will receive an appointment for a test.

Learner drivers hoping to do a test in Killarney, Co Kerry, face a wait of over six months while those in Wilton and Mallow in Co Cork face a wait of up to 24 weeks.

Similar to Cork, Limerick learner drivers face a wait of 23 weeks while those in Waterford will have to wait 25 weeks until they can book a slot.

Thurles in Co Tipperary has the lowest wait time at 10 weeks.

Out of the 122,281 learner drivers eligible for a test, just 15,186 have received a slot.

Some 59,824 learner drivers are waiting for a test slot, while an additional 47,271 learner drivers have been issued with an invitation to book a test but have not used it within 10 days.

Separately, 27,116 applied but were found to be not eligible, with a spokesperson for the Road Safety Authority (RSA) saying that this is usually due to having a learner permit for less than six months or not having completed all mandatory essential driver training.

Cork Wilton has the fourth-highest number of those waiting at 3,490 with 889 scheduled following Finglas (3,704), Dún Laoghaire (3,730), and Tallaght (6,379).

Local councillor in Dún Laoghaire, where the longest wait time is recorded, Juliet O’Connell, said that she sympathises with young drivers who rely on supervision to have independence while driving to college or work placements where active travel is not an option.

“We need to enable independence in order to support local economies where small businesses rely on student workers during summer months.

“Wait times need to be reduced immediately as a matter of urgency,” she said.

The data was released by the Road Safety Authority in response to a parliamentary question from Labour Party TD for Cork East Seán Sherlock.

Mr Sherlock said that the figures show that more testers are needed “faster than planned”.

“The additional testing sites were to alleviate the backlogs that built up over covid and show how effective they were, now that some of those sites have been stood down.

Those awaiting a test cannot languish after investing in lessons and training.

"We need to speed up the process to ensure that there is an acceptable wait time restored nationwide,” he said.

An RSA spokesperson said it is expected that once 75 additional driver testers are recruited, trained, and deployed, the backlog for driver testing services will be actively managed and will start to reduce from October.

He said agreed service levels should resume in early-mid 2024.

The 75 new posts will bring the total number of driving testers to over 200 and are in addition to 30 testers who were sanctioned in July last year and who have been fully deployed since the end of March.

Junior transport minister Jack Chambers said that the additional testers will be assigned to fill current vacancies and will be allocated to centres with the highest demand for tests.