The Galway Minister with responsibility for road transport has called in the Road Safety Authority top brass to instruct them to address unacceptable delays for driving tests.

Minister for International and Road Transport, Logistics, Rails and Ports, Séan Canney, met with the RSA leadership in the Department of Transport last week to focus on the need to reduce the current waiting times for driving tests, which, he said, were far in excess of what is acceptable.

The driver testing service is the statutory responsibility of the RSA under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006.

To support the RSA in increasing testing capacity and improving service delivery, in September 2024 the Department of Transport sanctioned an additional 70 permanent positions for driver testers. This increases the total permanent sanction for testers to 200, which represents a doubling of permanent posts since June 2022.

That recruitment process is underway, with the first tranche of new testers being deployed into service around now.

As additional testers enter the system, testing capacity will increase and progress should be seen on reducing waiting times in the months ahead.

As a condition of the sanction given in September, the RSA was required to put a plan in place to restore the ten-week waiting time target as soon as possible.

When this plan was first put forward by the RSA, it envisaged a return to the target by November 2025. This was deemed not acceptable given the level of delays already being suffered by learner drivers.

Minister Canney has now instructed the RSA to review the plan and identify further measures that will bring forward the date for achieving the target.

He will meet with the RSA in two weeks’ time to ensure the Authority makes progress. The RSA leadership have given their assurance to Minister Canney that service will be restored to the target level in a reasonable time.

Speaking after the meeting, Minister Canney said that the current delays were simply not acceptable.

“I fully understand the frustration being experienced by people right across the country – it is entirely understandable and justified,” he said.

“The RSA has a clear responsibility to meet its target of a ten-week waiting time, and I am determined to see that this happens. I have instructed the RSA to return in two weeks with sustainable proposals which will provide a faster resumption to the service level agreement.

“People deserve a National Driver Testing Service that they can rely upon, and I will continue to hold the RSA to account until we see meaningful progress,” he added.

Pictured: Crackdown…Minister Sean Canney.