The number of people on the driving test waiting list could grow to more than 114,000 by the end of this year, with an average waiting time of 36 weeks, if additional capacity to deal with the Covid-19 backlog is not created, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has warned.
Driving tests were suspended for a four-month period during the first wave of the pandemic, and have been operating at a reduced capacity since they restarted during the summer, creating a backlog that continues to grow.
The most recent figures from early December show there were 64,500 people waiting for a test, with an average wait time of between 25 and 30 weeks.
In a paper entitled Driver Testing Capacity Plan, submitted to the Department of Transport on November 18th, the RSA forecasts the backlog growing to 114,461 by the end of December 2021 if the system continues to operate with the current 133 full-time equivalent testers and no overtime is provided.
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However, the modelling figures provided by the authority to the department suggest this can be reduced to 99,629 with an average waiting time of 29 weeks if the testers work overtime.
The RSA warns the situation will “get worse before getting better”, adding that by the end of December 2022, there could be up to 174,675 people on the waiting list, though this is reduced to 148,852, with a wait time of 58 weeks, if testers work overtime.
The submission, obtained by The Irish Times under Freedom of Information, said each tester completed eight tests a day pre-Covid, but this has been reduced to six to cater for Covid-19 sanitising.
“This reduction in our capacity alongside the 32,000 backlog which grew whilst the service was suspended means that the volume of applicants awaiting appointment will continue to grow until such time as we have reached a capacity which exceeds the weekly growth and allows us be able to deduct applications from the backlog at a continued and sustained rate,” it says.
Overtime
The RSA outlined four options to the department: recruiting 80 testers on 18-month contracts and continuing overtime until December 2021; recruiting 100 testers on 18-month contracts and ceasing overtime from July 2021; continue as is with no additional hires and ceasing overtime in February 2021; or recruiting 80 additional testers on 22-month contracts and continuing with overtime until February 2021.
“The current priority is to work on reducing the waiting times as expediently as possible and we are seeking 80 additional testers to meet this requirement,” the RSA states.
However, the authority said the proposals and timelines outlined in the paper were based on Government guidance on Covid-19 restrictions issued on October 7th, and if restrictions were escalated further, which they have been, the proposals would need to be revisited and reviewed.
Under current Level 5 restrictions, applicants can attend their scheduled driving test appointment provided they are an essential worker, including essential retail work. Those who are not essential workers have been asked to contact the RSA to cancel their test, which is likely to further increase the backlog.
To assist in dealing with the backlog, a spokeswoman for the Department of Transport said the department has approved the retention by the RSA of 18 temporary driver testers whose contracts were due to expire in October and November.
“The RSA has also [rehired] a further 18 temporary testers whose contracts expired in May. In the longer term the department is considering proposals by the RSA for further measures to address the backlog,” the spokeswoman added.
