I am very concerned that people in Co. Wicklow are waiting so long to sit their driving tests and I believe that the proposal by the Road Safety Authority to end the provision of extra driver testing by the private operators SGS in April may lead to a return to excessively long driver test waiting lists.

The RSA reports that there are currently 48,000 applicants for the test and say there is adequate capacity in house to deal with these in core hours through the use of retired testers and through targeted use of overtime. However, they further state that the national average waiting time remains less than ten weeks and that some test centres experienced a recent temporary surge in waiting times due to extreme weather conditions and industrial action.

Given the appalling deaths of eight people on Irish roads over the St. Patrick's weekend it is critical that our eye is not taken off the ball when it comes to road safety and enhancing the system of driver education and training. It is imperative that the RSA and the Minister for Transport ensure that there is adequate provision to ensure that the long waiting lists for driving tests are reduced significantly.