Ireland’s backlog for driving tests has reached a new high, with waiting times continuing to increase, according to recent data, reports Breaking News.
Figures from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) show that in April, over 83,000 applicants were awaiting their driving tests, marking the largest backlog since the pandemic. This number was 58,860 in April 2024, rising to 72,414 in January this year, and then reaching a record 83,486 applicants in April.
Waiting times have also worsened significantly this year. In April, the estimated wait for a test was 27.3 weeks, or roughly 6-7 months, according to the RSA. A year earlier, the national wait time was 14.9 weeks, reports Breaking News.
While the RSA aims to offer applicants a test within 10 to 12 weeks, the last time they met this target nationally was nearly three years ago, in July 2022.
The wait for learner drivers varied across the country in April, with all centres experiencing at least a five-month delay. Navan and Tallaght had the longest waits, with applicants facing an estimated wait time of 43 weeks. The Carnmore test centre in Galway followed closely behind, with a 42-week wait, reports Breaking News.
Clifden, Tralee, and Gorey had the shortest queues last month, but even there, applicants faced a 21-week wait. The figures show that waiting times have increased sharply over the past year at all 60 test centres across the country.
For example, at Limerick’s Woodview centre, learner drivers who had a 9-week wait in April of last year now face an estimated 31-week wait. Several other centres across the country reported their longest-ever wait times in April, reports Breaking News.
Driving test delays have become a key political issue recently, with Minister of State Seán Canney stating that “all options” are being considered to resolve the backlog. “The service is not right and it needs to be rectified,” he said in the Dáil last week.
Mr. Canney revealed that he had instructed the RSA to review its plan to reduce test wait times to 10 weeks and “identify further measures to bring forward the date for achieving the target,” reports Breaking News.
The new chair of the Oireachtas transport committee, Fine Gael TD Michael Murphy, has requested an early meeting with the RSA “to discuss what actions are being taken to address the increasing waiting lists for driving tests.”
The RSA reported a record number of tests in the past year, with 253,850 tests carried out, up from 196,853 in 2023. Additionally, the RSA has started recruiting more testers to reduce the backlog by the end of this year, reports Breaking News.
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