"Unprecedented" demand for driving tests with 6,657 learner drivers in Laois

The Road Safety Authority is disputing learner driver figures issued by the Irish Road Hauliers Association. 

Laois man and head of the IRHA Ger Hyland claimed figures obtained under Freedom of Information(FOI) showed there were 15,055 learner drivers in Laois alone and 842,260 nationally. 

He criticised the Road Safety Authority(RSA) and said the figures were indicative of a road safety crisis. 

However, when contacted by the Leinster Express/Laois Live, the RSA stated that the figures quoted by the IRHA were incorrect. 

"As you will see, the figure is 378,652, not 842,260. We will be writing to the original FOI requestor informing her of the error and providing the correct information.”

According to the RSA, the true figure for Laois is 6,657 and not 15,055 as quoted by the IRHA. 

They acknowledged that  “the Driver Testing Service has experienced unprecedented demand in recent years with the number of applications for a driving test increasing significantly since 2021."

"In 2024 and a total of 253,850 driving tests were conducted, up from 196,853 in 2023, making it a record year for the delivery of tests. The delivery of 253,850 tests was only possible due to the support of our testing staff through significant levels of overtime and improvements in operational efficiencies."

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"A recruitment campaign for new driver testers was launched following Government approval for increased permanent sanction in September 2024. This will increase the number of permanent sanctioned testers from 130 to 200. It should be noted that the number of permanent testers was 100 in 2022, and this rose to 130 following sanction from the Department,” the RSA stated. 

They said “at the end February there were 144 permanent testers employed by the RSA, inclusive of 28 temporary testers who were successful in the open competition and moved to permanent contracts at the beginning of this year."

Pictured Above: RSA Figures 

"Another group of 13 testers are in the final stages of training and will be deployed to Dublin and Cork, where demand is particularly high at the end of April. Further Training of our new recruits will take place in May, July, September and October. The RSA will have 200 testers available in November. As these new recruits join the service, the waiting times will reduce significantly towards the end of the year,” the RSA said. 

The IRHA has called for a radical overhaul of the testing regime. They have also called for driving lessons to be introduced as part of the curriculum in secondary schools.