By Dionne Meehan
PLANS to crackdown on motorists who have held provisional licenses for years have been delayed over fears of a surge in driving test applications.
It comes as new figures reveal that in Donegal, 9,530 people are currently driving on a learner permit.
In June, Transport Minister Eamonn Ryan approved a plan for closing a loophole allowing learner drivers to repeatedly apply for a learner permit without sitting a driving test.
However, a detailed briefing from the Department of Transport, which was reported in the Irish Independent earlier this week, warned that this would end up “causing extra stress on the already overburdened testing system”.
The briefing added: “That is why it is so important for the testing capacity to get back to service-level agreements (a 10-week maximum wait) before the changes can be announced.”
This time last year, figures released to the Donegal News showed there were significant delays in almost every driving centre in the county.
The Donegal Town test centre had the longest waiting time of 45 weeks.
Learner drivers looking to do their tests in Buncrana had to wait 36 weeks, while learners in Letterkenny had to wait 18 weeks.
In Donegal, 9,530 people are currently driving on a learner permit, with 1,644 of those waiting for a driving test and 581 scheduled to sit a driving test, according to latest figures.
Despite wait times significantly decreasing in the past year, Donegal is still a long way off reaching service-level agreements.
This week, figures showed the Buncrana test centre had the longest waiting time of 20 weeks.
Learner drivers looking to do their tests in Letterkenny had to wait 18 weeks, while learners in Donegal Town had to wait 17 weeks.
In an effort to reduce wait times, plans are in place for 70 more testers to be hired by the RSA, nationally, on a permanent basis.
The first tranche of these testers will be trained and ready to work by next March.
While no specific target has been set, the RSA said it expects to be able to meet demand for tests later next year.
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