Cork learner drivers wait at least six months for a test

The shortest wait for a test can be found in Navan and Castlebar at 15 weeks on average. This is against a target of 10 weeks. File picture

Learner drivers in Cork are on waiting lists of half a year or more to sit their driving test, according to the latest figures.

In Wilton and Mallow, the estimated wait time is 28 weeks while it is 26 weeks in Skibbereen.

The longest wait in the country is in Tallaght in Dublin at 35 weeks as the Road Safety Authority (RSA) still contends with high waiting times across its network of driving test centres. 

The shortest wait for a test can be found in Navan and Castlebar at 15 weeks on average. This is against a target of 10 weeks.

Last week, the Irish Examiner reported that learner drivers are turning to a paid-for app on their phones that scrapes data from the RSA website to advise them when cancellations arise at their chosen test centres.

The RSA has urged people not to use such apps and said it was working on measures to clamp down on such third-party sites.

However, the data published by Fine Gael TD Barry Ward shows that learners face a long wait if they are unable to secure a cancelled appointment in the meantime.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

“The excuse of the delays caused by covid are no longer acceptable and there needs to be an urgent intervention from the Department of Transport to work with the RSA to reduce waiting times,” he said.

“I have written to the minister for transport and the RSA to outline the concerns of constituents who have been in touch with me, and I have asked that an urgent plan is put in place to reduce waiting times, not only in the Dún Laoghaire test centre, but across the country.” 

In the Dáil this week, Cork South Central TD Seamus McGrath also raised the issue and said the situation was "worsening". “This issue disproportionately affects young people,” he said.

It interferes with their plans for study, work and travel. It is impossible for them to plan their lives. In many cases their lives are on hold while they are waiting for a test. 

Taoiseach Micheál Martin acknowledged the delays being faced as driving tests are “crucial for people seeking a job”.

Mr Martin said: “For the want of getting a test, they can be stymied and undermined in this respect. I will speak to the minister about what we can do in the interim.”