Additional driving test centre in Dublin welcome – Mark Ward TD
2 April 2025
Sinn Féin spokesperson for Dublin, Mark Ward TD, has welcomed the news from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) that there are plans to open an additional driving test centre in South Dublin.
Deputy Ward was responding to an email he received from the RSA confirming the news.
Tallaght is the only centre for the whole of the South Dublin County Council area and has the highest waiting lists in the state.
Teachta Ward said:
“I’ve been campaigning for additional driving test centres for some time now.
“It is welcome news that the RSA has confirmed that there are now plans to open an additional driving test centre in South Dublin.
“At the moment, only Tallaght is available in the South Dublin County Council area. This test centre has the highest numbers of people waiting in the State.
“Over 13000 people are languishing on lists for a driving test in Tallaght.
“People waiting for a test in Tallaght are on average waiting for 27 weeks.
“This is not good enough.
“Sinn Féin have been calling for increased resourcing, expediting and increasing the recruitment of driving test instructors, and plugging the gaps in driving test centre locations.
“An additional driving test centre in South Dublin will go a long way to tackle waiting times.
“Long waiting times push up the costs of learning to drive and trap learner drivers in expensive insurance policies. For some, learning to drive now costs over €3000.
“The backlog even leads to disruptions in other vital services, as students or workers who rely on their licence are waiting in limbo.
“For example, there have been delays to the recruitment of Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus drivers as well as to paramedics as they require a licence to start their course.
“Locating a suitable facility in the South Dublin County Council area must be a priority for the RSA so that it can become operational as soon as possible and waiting lists brought down.
“I have followed up with the Minister for Transport to express the urgency for this.
“Sinn Féin brought a motion to the Dáil calling for the Government to address this crisis in waiting times, including the provision of new test centres. This motion passed.
“Waiting times need to come down over the next number of months and the state needs to start meeting their statutory obligations of 10 weeks rather than half a year that we are seeing currently.”
