ADDITIONAL driver testers are to be deployed to Skibbereen as part of a Road Safety Authority (RSA) action plan aimed at reducing driving test waiting times for Cork.
The government has tasked the RSA with reducing waiting times to a target of 10 weeks, and the plan sets out actions to bring the average waiting time down from 27 weeks by early September.
Included in the plan is the deployment of testers to centres to meet demands, including one tester being deployed to the centre Skibbereen in May, and another two in September.
This urgent response comes amid unprecedented demand for driving tests, with 8,754 applicants awaiting a test in Cork.
Other plans include expanded testing hours, including overtime for weekday evenings, Saturdays, and bank holidays, with tests running from 7.25am to 7pm.
Meanwhile, Cork hasn’t had an additional driving test centre added over the past 25 years and with the current backlog of driving tests it can be quicker to get a pilot’s licence than a driving licence, a recent meeting heard.
Cllr William O’Leary (Ind), who called for urgent action to address the delays, said the driving test system has ‘completely collapsed’ and is ‘outdated.’
‘We have over 70,000 people waiting to sit their driving tests and this is seriously hampering people’s progress and independence. Young apprentices can’t take up work as some are still waiting to sit their driving test,’ he said.
Cllr O’Leary claimed that, as Cork is the biggest county in the country, more additional test centres should be added.
‘There is precedent there as they got a second test centre in Letterkenny but we here in Cork haven’t had an additional test centre in the county in the last 25 years.’
Cllr Finbarr Harrington (Ind) said it’s affecting young people who can’t take up job offers, because they don’t have a full driving licence.
‘What’s really frustrating for them is that the dates for the test are constantly being deferred. One young man I know has had his date deferred four times so he’s not on the actual stats of those waiting to sit their test,’ said Cllr Harrington.
‘We’re a modern country and it shouldn’t take this long to get a driving test. It’s really frustrating for these motorists and it ends up with some taking chances while on provisional driving licences.’
He also called for driving lessons to be incorporated into the education system and noted that there is a lack of testers too; another councillor said people were going out of the county to sit their tests.
Cllr Brendan McCarthy (FG) said he had a parent of a Leaving Cert student contact him about the date of their son’s test being pushed out.
‘It’s very unfair on younger people particularly who only find their dates being pushed out very shortly before those confirmed dates. There is too much uncertainty and the whole system does need a review,’ said Cllr McCarthy, who welcomed the fact that a new tester will be employed soon for Skibbereen. County mayor Cllr Joe Carroll said that with the shortage of college accommodation in Cork city more and more third level students will need their full driving licence to drive to college. Councillors agreed to write to write to the Minister for Transport and the RSA to express their concerns on the ongoing backlog in driving tests across all licence categories.
A previous Southern Star article on driving test times quoted a pass rate of 43.3%.
This data referred to the year 2022; according to RSA figures, the pass rate for Skibbereen in 2024 was slightly over 49% for first-time applicants.
