RSA 'very confident' driving test waiting times will reduce to 10 weeks by September

The RSA announced a new action plan last month to reduce waiting times from an average of half a year to 10 weeks by September.

The plan to reduce driving test waiting times is “exceeding where it needs to be” and is on track to reach 10 weeks by September, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has said.

Its chief operations officer Brendan Walsh told an Oireachtas committee no contingency measures would be needed to bring the backlog down to the 10-week target, and it had the resources it needed now, with more testers being brought onboard.

“[We are] very confident,” Mr Walsh said, adding the latest figures show the average waiting time has reduced to just below 20 weeks.

Officials from the RSA were before the Oireachtas transport committee on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing issues around driving test waiting times around the country.

In the face of surging demand, the RSA had been unable to keep up, leading to a growing backlog affecting tens of thousands of people around the country.

Facing mounting pressure, it announced a new action plan last month to reduce waiting times from an average of half a year to 10 weeks by September. It said this would be done through the recruitment of more testers as well as significant levels of overtime working on Saturdays and bank holidays.

Committee chair and Tipperary TD Michael Murphy told the RSA representatives they would be well aware of the “frustration and anger” around “unacceptable” waiting times.

“We’re all feeling it in our constituency offices every week,” he said. “It’s the aspiration of every teenager to get their hands on that full drivers’ licence.” 

RSA chief executive Sam Waide began his opening statement by apologising for the lengthy waiting times and said reaching the 10-week target was a “national imperative”.

“While there is still a considerable journey ahead, we are encouraged by the early indicators of progress,” he said.

He acknowledged waiting times above 20 weeks in some centres were unacceptable but said the RSA had conducted its largest recruitment drive in its history to boost tester numbers to 200 by the end of August.

As the backlog began to grow, Mr Waide said the Department of Transport initially sanctioned the recruitment of temporary driving testers but they were not able to recruit the number they required.

“In an economy of full employment, people are only interested in permanent positions,” he said.

However, with new full-time permanent roles, this was providing certainty and helping to bring the waiting times down.

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Under questioning from Dublin West TD Emer Currie, the RSA also confirmed work was ongoing to fix a loophole whereby learner drivers could keep renewing their permits without ever having taken the driving test, by showing they have taken steps to book a test.

“We share your concerns,” he said. “There are 56,000 people on three or more permits.”