Tallaght has the longest waiting list for driving test
By Mary Dennehy
TALLAGHT has the longest waiting list in the country for a driving test, with 2,300 people currently waiting for an appointment at the Broomhill Road test centre.
According to figures released, 2,300 people are awaiting a test appointment, with 2,754 applicants currently scheduled to test for their full driving licence at Tallaght.
Tallaght test centre on Broomhill Road
Tallaght leads the top ten list of test centres in the country with the longest waiting lists, with Cork coming in second highest (2,048) followed by Finglas (1,579), Churchtown (1,331), Naas (1,052), Raheny (997), Limerick (973), Navan (854), Mulhuddart (787) and Dundalk (748).
The lowest waiting list in the country is in Tipperary, where only 109 people are waiting to be scheduled a test appointment.
The figures were received by Independent Senator Victor Boyhan who sought information from the Minister for Transport on the learner driving test waiting times across the country.
In his response, the Minister for Transport Shane Ross said that he is “very aware” of the current wait times for driving tests nationwide.
He added that measures are being put in place by the Road Safety Authority (RSA), which provides the driving test service, to reduce waiting times for the public.
Minister Ross confirmed that the RSA’s target national average waiting time for a driving test in no longer than 10 weeks.
Of the 50 test centres around the country, 33 currently meet this target – with some test centres coming in at under six weeks.
While Tallaght has the longest waiting list, it does not have the longest average wait time – which are being experienced at test centres in Wicklow (17.6 weeks) and Kilrush (15.9 weeks).
According to figures on the RSA’s website, the average wait time for a test appointment at Tallaght is 6.4 weeks, with the longest wait time being 13 weeks.
The Minister noted that the ‘longest wait time’ is not an average and could be due to issues such as ‘non-completion of the mandatory 12 EDT lessons, fee payment outstanding or an applicant rescheduling their appointment’.
There are currently 147.94 full time equivalent driver testers nationwide, with plans in place to recruit an additional eight testers this month.
“There is a gradual reduction in waiting times at almost all test centres”, Minister Ross said.
“With the additional resources available as well as those coming on stream, waiting times will continue to reduce at all test centres.”
Senator Boyhan has called on Minister Ross to consider bringing in private testers “to augment the RSA testers” and to “make significant inroads” into reducing the numbers waiting for a test.
Commenting on the figures, Dublin South West Sinn Fein TD Sean Crowe said: “The main culprit behind these long delays is the lack of testers to deal with what is clearly a growing demand for full driving licences.
“Clearly Minister Ross needs to start doing his job and support the RSA in recruiting significant numbers of new testers to cope with this obvious demand.”
The Rathgar test centre, which would have received applicants from across South Dublin, closed in 2017.
