Driving-test backlog grows by 2260 in just one month – Pa Daly TD
18 March 2025
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Transport, Pa Daly, has slammed the government for their repeated failure to address the growing delays in driving tests.
He called on them to urgently adopt Sinn Féin’s proposals, which were unopposed when brought to the Dáil last month as part of a Private Members Bill.
Commenting on figures he received from the Road Safety Authority in response to a Parliamentary Question he posed, Teachta Daly said:
“While the backlog in driving test delays is totally unacceptable, the government’s outright refusal to deal with it is even more outrageous.
“The number of those waiting for a test has surged by 2260 in just one month.
“Between the end of January and the end of February, the backlog jumped from 72,414 to a staggering 74,674.
“Some learner drivers are having to wait over eight months before they sit a test. Average waiting times have also grown and far outstrip the statutory minimum of 10 weeks.
“This is an issue Sinn Féin have raised time and time again. Despite agreeing with our motion last month, which proposed a number of solutions, the government has yet again failed to take any action.
“They are all about kite-flying and paying lip-service but have zero intention to actually tackle the backlog.
“Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. Is it any wonder, therefore, that the backlog has actually gotten worse?
“These delays cause great frustration in communities. They 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.
“There are not enough permanent driving instructors, and many areas are without a permanent, let alone temporary test centre.
“The government must get to grips with this issue. Sinn Féin is calling on them to urgently adopt Sinn Féin’s proposals which include increased resourcing, expediting and increasing the recruitment of driving test instructors, and plugging the gaps in driving test centre locations.
“Finally, the government must once and for all identify all the gaps in driving test centre locations and mandate the RSA and the OPW to fill them.
“The deepening crisis requires the political will, ambition and resourcing to solve it.
“Just like the crisis in housing, healthcare and the cost of living, more of the same from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will only make matters worse.”
Figures for driving test applications at (1) the end of January and (2) the end of February.
