Student drivers currently waiting 30 weeks for their driving test are ‘unsatisfactory’ – the Road Safety Authority will tell an Oireachtas committee, reports RTE.
RSA said the backlog was due to “unprecedented” volumes of applications combined with staffing issues.
Eligible drivers should complete the test within ten weeks of submitting their application.
RSA chief operating officer Brendan Walsh will say the average waiting time of ten weeks will not be achieved until mid-2024.
In his opening statement to the Oireachtas Transport Committee, seen by RTÉ News, Walsh will say that by the end of August this year, the number of driving test applications was 170,826 compared to 169,237 in all of 2018.
In his opinion, this is due to population growth, internal migration and an increase in the number of drivers under the supervision of authorized driving instructors.
The number of applications for training permits also increased to a record level, increasing by 35% compared to the same period in 2019.
Mr Walsh said the previous backlog built up during the Covid-19 pandemic was cleared in early 2022 when waiting times were reduced to six weeks, reports RTE.
The Department of Transport has approved an increase in the number of permanent driver examiners from 100 to 130 by early 2022 and all of these positions have been filled.
An additional 75 driving license examiners have been authorized for two years and recruitment is ongoing.
RSA is now carrying out an average of 4,000 tests per week, up from 3,186 in October 2022.
According to the RSA, road fatalities have increased by almost a quarter this year, reports RTE.
As of September 10, a total of 130 people had died in deadly clashes, compared to 105 in the same period last year, an increase of 24%.
Moreover, approximately 850 people have been seriously injured in road accidents this year.
The RSA will return to the Oireachtas Transport Committee next week for an in-depth discussion on road safety, reports RTE.
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