Just 14 out of 57 driving test centres countrywide are reaching the 10-week national average waiting time target, down from 24 at the start of the month, according to latest available figures.
Road Safety Authority (RSA) statistics show that on September 4th those 24 centres achieved or surpassed the target time set last year by Minister of State for Transport Seán Canney.
However, on September 11th the number reaching 10 weeks had dropped to 20 centres, and by last Friday, September 25th, just 14 test centres reached the 10-week target.
This is when motorists are invited to apply for an appointment to do their driving test. It can take a further three to five weeks to actually sit the test. The figures have been compiled by road safety campaign group Parc from the RSA website.
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The campaign group’s founder, Susan Gray, said waiting times hit the national average target of 10 weeks following strict instructions from Canney, who set a September 2025 deadline and allowed no excuses.
The RSA achieved that target with a lot of overtime being availed of, she said. However, since then it has fallen by the wayside once more, she said.
“We need to see all the stops pulled out and as much overtime being given as necessary to reach the 10-week national average target and this time to maintain it.”
An RSA spokesman said the service continues to experience exceptionally high demand and test applications were 15 per cent higher in August than the same period in 2025.
Factors in the increase are likely to include measures coming into effect in November which will reduce the number of people holding multiple learner permits who do not progress to taking a test. Almost 70,000 people are affected by the changes, said the spokesman. He added “there are currently no restrictions in place” on overtime.
Waiting times are, however, also creeping up at several centres, including Dún Laoghaire in south Co Dublin, where waiting times had been 22 weeks, dropped to 17 weeks at the end of August but have risen again in the past month to 19.
In Gorey, Co Wexford, waiting times have surged from the target of 10 weeks at the end of August to 16 weeks, while they have risen from nine weeks to 14 in Wexford town.
Tallaght in southwest Co Dublin has had the longest waiting time for several months. The time there stands at 22 weeks before a driver is invited to apply for their test, a slight improvement on its 24-week showing earlier in September.
The shortest time in the State is at the Birr, Co Offaly, centre where learners can apply for their test appointment after just seven weeks.
Portlaoise has a waiting time of 17 weeks, as does Mulhuddart, west Dublin.
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The centres hitting or going beyond target also include all three Co Clare test centres. In Kilrush, the waiting time is eight weeks, as it is at Shannon, while Ennis stands at 10 weeks.
In Skibbereen and Mitchelstown, Co Cork, learners have to wait just eight weeks before applying for their test.
The Leixlip, Co Kildare, centre, which opened at the start of September, has a nine-week waiting time, up from seven when it first began operations.
Waiting times in Carnmore, Galway, increased from seven to nine weeks while the Clybaun centre in Galway is also at nine weeks. Clifden, however, has a waiting time of 15 weeks.
Waiting times in Tuam, the Minister’s hometown, are below target at 11 weeks, while Loughrea waiting times increased from 10 to 13 weeks.
The RSA spokesman said that, as of September 19th, the national average waiting time was 11.9 weeks, with 20 centres operating within the 10-week service level agreement and nine at 11 weeks.
