The Road Safety Authority has confirmed that applicants seeking to take their driving test at the Portlaoise Test Centre are facing a minimum wait-time of six months before they can even book a test.
The RSA communicated the lengthy wait-time to Independent TD for Laois Offaly, Carol Nolan.
Deputy Nolan said that she has had to make an increasing number of urgent representations to the RSA on behalf of young people and workers who are desperately trying to sit a test that will enable them to access college or places of employment.
The subject has been a bone of contention for local representatives for quite some time.
Just before Christmas, local Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley called on Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan to take action.
In fact, the situation has been a hot topic for years now, with Fianna Fáil TD Sean Fleming broaching the subject as far back as 2017.
Now, Deputy Nolan has taking up the manatal, saying:
“Quite frankly, the situation is beyond ludicrous at this point, and it is having a seriously detrimental impact on the quality of people’s lives.
“I was informed today that constituents who applied for a test in October of last year at the Portlaoise Test Centre can only expect to receive an invitation to book a test in the week commencing April 22, 2024.
“I understand that the RSA staff are under pressure and indeed in its correspondence to me the RSA clearly stated that it was conscious of the frustration and inconvenience that a long waiting time for a driving test brings with it.
“However, this is a serious understatement of the impact this situation is having on people who feel trapped due to a lack of available transport options.
“I have written to Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan demanding to know what measures he is going to implement to bring waiting times down as quickly as possible in conjunction with the RSA.
“We are constantly hearing that the RSA is ‘in the process’ of recruiting new driver testers, but where are they?
“This is a basic but critically important public service that quite clearly needs a radical overhaul to make it fit for purpose for 2024 and beyond,” concluded Deputy Nolan.
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