Waiting times for driving tests are growing longer

Waiting times at driving test centres throughout the State have risen by 40 per cent on average in the past 18 months, with motorists in some areas having to wait more than a year, according to the latest official figures.

The average waiting time for a test is now 35 weeks, up from 25 weeks in March 1988, figures from the Department of the Environment and Local Government show.

The longest delays are in Finglas, Dublin (62 weeks), Letterkenny, Co Donegal (59 weeks) and Sligo (54 weeks).

In the past six months, 11 permanent and 26 contract testers have been recruited, bringing the total number to 102. Yet, in the same period, the number of people on the waiting lists has risen by more than 5,000 to 100,667.

A spokeswoman for the Department said it took six weeks to train new testers, which went some way to explaining why there had been no fall-off in waiting times since they were employed.

However, the Fine Gael TD, Mr Brian Hayes, said the figures showed the measures introduced by the Government to tackle the issue were useless.

He said the Minister of State, Mr Robert Molloy, told the Dail last October that the waiting lists would be significantly reduced. In the Government's Strategy for Road Safety, the Department pledged to reduce the waiting period to a maximum of 10 weeks by the end of this year.

"In fact, they've moved in the wrong direction, adding to concerns about the number of unqualified drivers on the road," said Mr Hayes.

"It's ludicrous and does not lend itself to good practice on the roads to have more than 100,000 people waiting considerable periods to be tested."

Mr Conor Faughnan, the AA's public affairs manager, said: "This is the only aspect of road safety over which the Government has direct control, and it has clearly failed to produce the results. The situation has undoubtedly deteriorated in the lifetime of this Government. It's an absolute fiasco. The Minister has made only modest changes when a much bigger increase in testers is needed."

He noted the Government target of reducing waiting times to 10 weeks was unacceptable in the first place.

The worst region at present is the north-west, where waiting times average 47 weeks. This compares to 37 weeks in the west, 34 weeks in the south-west, 31 weeks in north Leinster, 29 weeks in the south-east, and 25 weeks in south Leinster.

The centre at Tullamore, Co Offaly, has the shortest waiting period, 12 weeks.

Meanwhile, the Department has begun to seek tenders for a consultant to assist in the introduction of a written theory test for drivers on provisional licences, who account for a quarter of all licensed drivers in the State.

The test was due to have been introduced before the end of last year. It is believed it will be based on a comparable British test under which drivers must answer 30 multiple-choice questions with a 75-80 per cent pass mark.