Kerry County Council has been urged ask the Minister for Transport to give driving instructors powers to issue temporary driving licences or certificates of competence to those on long waiting list for tests.
Killarney councillor John O’Donoghue said the wait is currently far too long and the system is in danger of becoming completely overwhelmed.
“In a case I am familiar with, a young person passed their theory test in January 2022 and he immediately applied for his mandatory 12 driving lessons. When these were completed, he applied for his driving test on the 2nd of December 2022 and was still waiting some weeks ago,” he said.
“This wait is placing him and his family under considerable extra cost and stress which is completely unacceptable,” he added.
Cllr O’Donoghue said when he checked the Road Safety Authority website, the next available date in Killarney is May 25th 2024, while Tralee is June 3rd 2024.
They are only the dates on which an applicant receives an invitation to book a test and the test itself will then be an estimated three to five weeks later, he pointed out.
“This is an appalling situation and one which needs to be rectified as a matter of urgency,” he said.
“I am proposing that driving instructors, who presumably are fully trained up on the rules of the road, be granted temporary powers to be allowed to issue temporary driving licences to young people.
“When the waiting list time has been reduced, I would still propose that these people sit the test as usual but the current pressure needs to be alleviated as soon as possible,” Cllr O’Donoghue insisted.
He added that a precedent was set in the 1970s when a whole a cohort in this country were issued driving licences without having sat a test as the wait time was too long.
“While we are all in favour of Active Travel measures and public transport is a wonderful facility, the reality is that in a rural county like Kerry, people are, and will be reliant on their car for some time to come. I propose we write to the minister with my proposal immediately,” he told council officials.
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