Driver Test
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-17
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Frankie Feighan (FG), Sligo-Leitrim

I thank Senator Kennelly for raising this matter. As he may be aware, under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006, the Road Safety Authority, or RSA, has statutory responsibility for the national driver testing service. This includes full responsibility for operational matters, including scheduling of tests and all decisions in relation to the opening of new driver testing centre locations. Neither the Minister of State with responsibility for transport or the Department have any function or powers in deciding on the location of new driver testing centres.
Reducing driver testing wait times has been a priority for my colleague, the Minister of State with responsibility for transport, Deputy Canney, since taking office. In May last year, he directed the RSA to produce and publish a service recovery plan to return the national average waiting time to ten weeks by the beginning of September 2025, and this was achieved. The current national average waiting time on 13 June 2026 was 11.6 weeks, which is above the service level agreement of ten weeks. I am informed that the RSA is continuing to focus on addressing centres with higher demand and wait times. However, it should be noted that the driver test service continues to experience high demand, and the number of applications has increased by 17% to the end of May when compared with the same period in 2025.
In respect of County Kerry, I am informed that as of 31 May 2026, the average waiting time for a driving test is 14 weeks in Tralee and 13 weeks in Killarney test centres. While the average wait time remains above the target ten-week period, this marks an improvement on the 16-week average wait times for both Tralee and Killarney test centres in May 2025. In addition, as the Senator will be aware, people seeking a driving test can apply to any test centre. In that regard, he may wish to note that driver testing wait times at the Newcastle West testing centre, which is relatively close to Listowel, stands at 11 weeks as of 31 May 2026.
In September 2024, the Department of Transport conveyed sanction for 70 additional driver testing posts on a permanent basis, bringing the permanent sanction to 200, which represents a doubling of permanent posts since June 2022. As of 13 June 2026, 194 testers were active, with an additional five in training. This marks a significant increase on the 151 available at the beginning of 2025. I am told that the RSA is working to reach its full complement of 200 testers subject to the next successful training and onboarding of new recruits. It is important to note, however, that while a driver tester may be assigned to one centre, testers routinely and regularly move between centres to meet demand. The RSA has also indicated that overtime testing is continuing in 2026.
The driver testing booking system now makes available cancelled test slots for candidates to take up at short notice. On behalf of the Minister of Transport, I encourage learner drivers awaiting a test to monitor this channel, which may provide an opportunity to book an earlier testing date.
The opening of a new centre in Listowel is a matter for the RSA. The authority has indicated that the processes for opening a new driving test centre are informed primarily by sustained demand within a geographic area, operational requirements, accessibility for customers, driver tester capacity and the availability of suitable accommodation and infrastructure. There are no plans to open a driver testing centre in Listowel, and I am told it has not been highlighted by the RSA as a proposed new location within current planning considerations.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:04+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-17