Driver Test
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-18
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Barry Ward (FG), Dún Laoghaire

Again, I acknowledge the work that has been done and the commitment the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, have shown to this and the progress that has been made. I also acknowledge what the Minister said, that it is cold comfort to the people waiting 21 weeks that the national average has come down to 11.5 weeks, but I welcome those changes. I also agree with his statement that I am not criticising individual testers. They probably work under a pretty difficult situation. As I said, the area where this testing centre is located is pretty congested. I suspect that is what is slowing down the progress in tests, but maybe that can be addressed. Maybe there is an issue that can be addressed there. The Minister has identified that there are testers assigned to the Sandyford centre. That is welcome. It is, I agree with him, frustrating both that it has not opened and that we do not know when it will open. If there are people assigned, is it the case then that they could temporarily be assigned to Dún Laoghaire and Deansgrange? That might be part of the solution, or they might even be able to work from there to help. In addition, could the Minister commit to looking at lengthening the hours during which tests can take place, particularly as we get into longer days after the clocks change? I think there is a capacity there to increase the number of tests taking place per week, particularly if the testers are there. That can also deal with the fact that they might be facing congestion in the area at particular times.
I appreciate both the fact that the Minister has acknowledged the problem and the fact that he is here to deal with the issue himself. We do not often see senior Ministers in for Topical Issues, so I appreciate his commitment to this issue. It is an important issue, and the reason I raise it, which I know he understands, is that there are so many people in my area - as I said, over 5,000 - waiting for these tests who are significantly inconvenienced by the delay. They cannot take up jobs, they cannot drive themselves to college and they cannot get the mobility they need. That is why it is important. I appreciate what the Minister said about raising this issue with the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, tomorrow. I appreciate the commitment and acknowledge the progress that has been made. I just hope we can redouble our efforts to continue that progress and specifically target the unnecessarily long waiting lists in Dún Laoghaire.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:45+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-18