Darragh O'Brien
Dublin Fingal East · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“The appropriate next time to do that is once the ANCA decision is finalised and the public consultation is concluded, which will be on 3 September. Obviously, there will be a period required after that when the submissions to ANCA will be looked at. That is where the consultation is. That will happen over the coming months.”
“I have already mentioned the more than 3 million passengers who flew through Cork Airport and the growth of Shannon Airport, which has just had its best half a year and which now has over 40 routes. However, a small number of people are impacted and they need to be listened to.”
“Others did not want it at all. I think Shane Ross was Minister for transport at the time. That has been done. That is in place. This decision will be made. I do not have a timeframe. Hopefully it will be soon after the submissions from the public on the draft noise decision is made. That would feed into both.”
“An Investec report published in, I believe, 2022 said that to maintain the cap at 32 million between now and 2030 would jeopardise up to about 19,000 jobs. That is the reality of it. I support the workers in the airport. I am from the community myself. The airport has to grow in a sustainable way.”
“I have also made it clear that even though, and this is a fact, international aviation emissions are outside the scope of the climate action plan, we are taking actions aligned with the global approach to decarbonisation of the aviation industry, which is based on the International Civil Aviation Organization's basket of measures to ensur…”
“I have already highlighted the planning decision on the DAA’s infrastructure application. We discussed that at some length over the course of the last nearly two hours. That application seeks to raise the passenger cap to 40 million and provide for much-needed additional infrastructure at Dublin Airport.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,432 lines we hold for Darragh O'Brien, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 27 of 29.
“I reassure the Deputy that the NTA uses all the contractual and regulatory powers available to it to measure, report on and seek to maintain and improve standards across all PSO public transport services. Further, in instances where performance drops, such as those we saw recently on certain routes, financial penalties are rigorously applied unless the cause of the loss of performance is outside of the control of the operator. I recently met NTA representatives specifically on this matter because not only do I want the NTA to focus on the bus operators but I want the bus operators to focus on customer service and certainty as best as possible so that people know that if a bus is scheduled, it will turn up.”
“The vast majority of public service obligation bus services are provided by State operators through what are known as direct award contracts. Remaining routes are run by operators awarded a contract following a competitive tendering process. Sometimes those routes are operated by a State operator and sometimes they are operated by a private operator. This mix of contract award processes is in accordance with the relevant EU and Irish regulatory frameworks. The performance of all public transport operators is monitored by the NTA as part of the contractual arrangements in place between it and the operators and performance reports are available to view on the NTA’s website.”
“I will leave that as it is. People will make up their own minds about it. Let us look at the facts. In 2020, the number of available charging points was about 1,700. It was 2,400 as of January 2024, and that will increase further this year, although I do not yet have those numbers. I am very serious about improving the infrastructure throughout the country. We will do that and we are concluding the consultation with the local authorities to identify where. We are serious about doing it and we will do it.”
“I have just told the Deputy what we are doing, and I did not say that what has happened up to now is unacceptable. I said we need to do more. Anyone will understand that when you are bringing in new infrastructure such as this, you are not going to do it in a year. That is obvious. You have a plan but you also have to know how to pay for it, and I have highlighted the contradiction in the stance of the Deputy's party in respect of investing in areas such as this. It opposed carbon tax. We want to increase grants-----”
“Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland, ZEVI, offers a generous suite of financial supports to drivers for the transition to electric vehicles, including a purchase grant for battery electric vehicles, a home charger purchase grant, vehicle registration tax, VRT, relief of up to €5,000 and a low rate of annual motor tax.”
“As I was saying, the regional and local EV network plan is very important. Departmental officials have been engaging actively with local authorities to develop their own regional charging plans. We are now looking at ranges averaging 400 km, which will cover most daily driving. Most EV charging happens at home. Nevertheless, I agree that we need to improve the EV charging infrastructure throughout the country, and this strategy will focus in particular on our regional areas. I can also confirm that in line with the programme for Government, a new EV infrastructure strategy will be developed this year, covering 2026 onwards. A key consideration in that will be addressing the specific EV challenges of rural communities, which I acknowledge.”
“These are all for delivery in the next 12 months. Last week, I announced a third scheme that is focused on installing high-powered recharging stations along 3,000 km of national primary and secondary roads. This will ensure EV drivers have reliable access to charging points throughout the country. Furthermore, of significant relevance to rural motorists is the regional and local EV network plan. I will publish the final version of this plan, following extensive consultation and engagement with local authorities, in the coming weeks. The plan describes how local authorities will facilitate the provision of local charging networks.”
“We have had issues, as the Deputy will know, in multi-unit developments with the provision of charging points, which needs to be looked at, but home charging means lower running costs and many EVs are now capable of reaching more than 400 km in a single charge, which will meet most people's daily driving needs. The public charging network has grown in recent years and the new programme for Government includes further significant expansion and modernisation of the EV charging network in order that drivers can use EVs with confidence and certainty. Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, is leading on the delivery of charging infrastructure along our motorways and national primary and secondary routes. We have launched three grant aid programmes for the delivery of significant, high-powered charging infrastructure on these roads.”
“I am aware of that. I am also aware the Deputy's party has opposed every action we have taken in respect of climate, whether through our climate budgets or the climate action plan. That is a policy position it has, but I think we all understand the need for us to reduce emissions to improve how people travel. The Deputy's question relates specifically to electric vehicles and making them more accessible to rural motorists, something with which I agree. Rural motorists are often in an advantageous position to switch to using an electric vehicle due to the large number of dwellings in rural Ireland that are suitable for EV charging.”
“There is much we can do on the transport side while we are still building new roads, which we need to do too. We have just had a brief discussion on the Adare bypass, and anyone in that region around Limerick and the south west will understand the importance of that piece of road infrastructure as well.”
“The Deputy mentioned a number of things. On active travel, earlier this year he will have seen the NTA announcements, with very significant funding. Tomorrow, I will announce additional funding for greenways, improving the permeability between towns and villages. This is a successful programme and we want to expand it, and that is embraced by communities too. In respect of EVs, I am not just going to review the grants; I intend to improve them. We have not concluded the work on that. The Deputy will have seen that in the past two weeks, we have announced the EV taxi grants, which have been fully subscribed, and we can continue to change our public fleet, including our buses and bus network, across the board. We have also announced the first electric motorbike grant, in which, again, there has been a lot of interest.”
“Charging infrastructure is really important. I will be making announcements in the coming weeks to roll out additional charging infrastructure. I might return to the active travel question the Deputy raised in another supplementary.”
“There is a balance to be struck here. I am glad the Deputy mentioned the CCAC and IFAC contribution today which I very much welcome. It does show the challenge in a growing economy. Thankfully we have full employment. Deputy Pa Daly already mentioned his view that there are infrastructural deficits and there are as well. We need to build more roads and we need more investment in rail. We will do that with the refresh of the NDP but the climate action plan is central to all of that. In the past two years we have seen a reduction in emissions of about 6.6% last year even while the economy was growing. That is a really important tipping point. The targets are exacting by 2030. On EVs and EV grants, I will look specifically at them and review them to see if they can be improved. I think they can but we have only commenced that work.”
“The Deputy will no doubt acknowledge that investment in our roads programme promotes regional accessibility, facilitates economic competitiveness, supports a town centres first approach and improves road safety. Our ongoing efforts to decarbonise the vehicles using the roads network is an important focus over the short to medium term. Significant investment is under way to accelerate the roll-out of EV charging infrastructure across the network.”
“Under the TAF, climate change impacts are one of the seven appraisal criteria for intervention. As part of the development of a project's business case, each individual project is also assessed for strategic policy alignment under which the project's alignment with climate policy, including the relevant climate action plan, is considered. All of this assessment is published as part of the publication of the business case. In developing the sectoral emissions ceilings as part of the Government's climate action plan, the impact of the NDP's planned investment in the roads programme was considered in the modelling scenarios undertaken. A refresh of those modelling scenarios is under way again this year as part of the development of climate action plan 2026 and will again include analysis of the roads programme.”
“I thank the Deputy for this important question on transport sectoral emissions. My Department's national investment framework for transport in Ireland, NIFTI, sets out modal and intervention hierarchies to achieve transport objectives. One of the four priorities is decarbonisation and as such, the sponsoring agency of any road project must consider any potential positive or negative impacts of a given project in relation to decarbonisation. The sponsor must also demonstrate that a given option is the most environmentally sustainable and cost-effective solution for the issue at hand. As part of our NIFTI framework we have also developed and published the transport appraisal framework, TAF, which sets out the detailed framework for how all transport projects must be assessed.”
“In any annual works programme there is no question that every road within it will be addressed but we will have a significant announcement very shortly in relation to the national roads programme. The Deputy will look at it, and rightly so, but these are projects we want to advance further.”
“All of us want to see further improvements in the road network and in particular when we look at regional and local roads. I do not think anyone can dispute the investment for 2025 is very significant. Will it do every regional and local road across the country? Of course it will not. You must have a works programme as well and the capacity to deliver those programmes. That is what I and the Ministers of State, Deputies Canney and Buttimer, in this Government will be focused on. It is for the local authorities to bring the schemes forward and to make submissions to ourselves and through the roads authorities as well. It is from that decisions are made in relation to the delivery of the funding for those schemes. We are focused on delivery. People will see significant improvements over the term of this Government.”
“It includes €330 million for road pavement strengthening and €75 million for preventative surface stressing. Our budget will be expended this year. I can assure the Deputy of that. We have a very strong pipeline of works under way. In the coming weeks I will announce the national works programme too. It will see significant investment. I am glad to see some significant projects with which the Deputy will be familiar, such as the Adare bypass which has started. Again, that is not a kite; it is happening. We will continue to invest in our roads because I accept there are deficits in areas and we want to try to address them.”
“Tá am breise ag an Teachta anocht. There is no kite flying on this. This is real money for roads across the country. We announced them and people will see the network of roads. As part of this investment in 2025, just under €48 million is being invested in developing and upgrading this infrastructure through vital strategic projects. The Deputy will be familiar with some of them. These include projects identified for development under the national development plan such as the Tralee northern relief road – I do not think that is a kite anyone is flying - and the Shannon crossing, the Killaloe bypass and the R494 upgrade. Furthermore, €22.2 million is also being provided for smaller-scale road improvements under the specific grant category. I could go through the list of all the roads but I have published it.”
“This funding will support local authorities in carrying out an extensive 2025 programme of maintenance and restoration works. Funding also supports various safety improvement works, bridge rehabilitation schemes, drainage works, climate adaptation measures, community involvement projects and the maintenance of former national roads.”
“As outlined in the 2025 regional and local roads grant programme, which I announced on 14 February this year, the Government is strongly committed to protecting the existing regional and local road network. This network is fundamental in maintaining social and economic connectivity, linking people and places across the country. Ireland's regional and local road network spans 96,000 km. The network requires significant funding to ensure it remains fit for purpose, safe and resilient. As such, €713 million has been allocated to regional and local road grants in 2025, with approximately 90% of this funding being directed towards maintenance and renewal works. This represents an overall increase of 8% in funding, year on year.”
“Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle as ucht a phoist nua. Congratulations on your new post, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I thank the Deputy for his question as I know that this is a matter of interest to him and to many Deputies within the House. I certainly know that by the number of queries that I have received over the past week or so. The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, as the Deputy will be aware, in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads funded from councils' own resources are supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is a matter for the local authority. They send their submissions up to the Department.”
“Each and every Senator and the area in which he or she lives will have transport projects that Members will want to see advanced, commenced or completed. The whole focus of this year and the next five years of this Government is on delivery. It is delivery on transport and on all of the Departments the Government is working through. Specifically, the next five years have the potential to be transformational for public transport in this country and we have to work hard together to make sure we deliver it.”
“I am also pleased to say planning permission was granted last year for works on Oranmore station, which provides for a passing loop at the existing station and a second platform. In conclusion, last year my Department, together with the Department for Infrastructure in the North of Ireland, published the final report of the all-island strategic rail review. This review envisages hourly train frequencies between cities and the future electrification of intercity lines. Lots of good work is happening and there is lots more to do in that space. There is investment in place. There will be a national development plan review to secure additional funding and we will look for Senators' support on that and not just on the projects in their own areas like both Senators who have spoken already put on the floor of the House.”
“Works on the Cork area commuter rail programme are well under way, with a new through platform at Kent Station expected to open in the coming weeks. Double tracking and resignalling work is ongoing, all of which will enable the Cork commuter services to expand over the coming years. Galway's Ceannt train station is now being redeveloped. I visited that last year and there was good cross-department co-operation on that. It is being redeveloped and is scheduled to be completed next year. A new train station is under construction in Waterford, which is a really significant development for Waterford along with the new bridge there and the moving of the train station in Waterford. That is part of a series of station works across the country.”
“In relation to heavy rail, conditional and full planning approval was provided in 2024 by An Bord Pleanála for DART+ West and DART+ South West projects, respectively. Work is now ongoing to bring these projects to the next stage. A planning application was also lodged for DART+ Coastal North last year and it is on this northern line from Dublin to Drogheda - I see Senator Comyn is here as well - that the public will get to experience the first element of the DART+ programme with the new battery-powered electric DART carriages, which are currently undergoing testing and will enter into service next year. They will also be fully accessible and battery charged as well and will run along the northern commuter line. Outside Dublin, we are also investing heavily in our rail network.”
“The past few years have seen significant investment to create a strategic public transport network and there have been several positive developments to date. An Bord Pleanála has approved 11 of the 12 core bus corridors as part of BusConnects Dublin. The first of these corridors will start construction in Dublin later this year, providing for faster and more reliable bus services. An oral hearing was heard on MetroLink's planning application last year. A significant milestone was reached with the appointment of a very experienced programme director to deliver the project. The Seanad will note work is ongoing to expand light rail. Our planning application for the Luas extension to Finglas was submitted to An Bord Pleanála just last November.”
“The new routes that are being designed for BusConnects are all being designed with maximum accessibility. We must do a fair bit of work on the retrofitting of existing facilities. Route planning now is absolutely on an accessible-for-all basis. Newer systems, such as the Luas, are fully accessible and all new buses purchased by the NTA are fully accessible. The new DART+ carriages, which I have mentioned already, will have an automated ramp and I assure the House the Government is committed to making public transport more accessible in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and in the forthcoming national disability strategy, which is really important and will be published shortly.”
“There are still some issues with Bus Éireann and some of the older buses as well. The NTA manages the public transport accessibility retrofit programme. If Senators are not acquainted with this, I ask them to have a look at it. It aims to make facilities accessible for everyone. Senator O'Loughlin spoke about other ancillary facilities. I am pleased to confirm that the allocation for 2025 is €25 million, which is a 60% year-on-year increase in funding. That will be for upgrading of stations and terminals across the country to make sure they are more accessible for people. Members will be aware that my Department and its agencies are progressively working to make our public transport network more accessible, but first of all by ensuring that new services and infrastructure are accessible. Design is critically important.”
“I am very serious about ensuring we no longer have situations where someone who has mobility issues is treated differently in a public transport network from someone else. I feel really strongly about that. Senator Clifford-Lee will know well that heretofore, people using the northern line have had to book 24 hours in advance for a rail journey just because they are mobility impaired and might have a special need. The new carriages we are receiving, which will start on the northern line - in case I am accused of being parochial by bringing them into my own backyard in the northern line, I should mention that this decision was made by my predecessor, the former Minister, Eamon Ryan - are equipped with automatic ramps so there is full accessibility on them. Our bus fleet has improved substantially.”
“In the programme for Government, we have committed to enhancing and supporting the delivery of a skilled workforce to maintain and operate public transport vehicles. We are establishing a task force to deliver on that commitment within the Department. As more people are using public transport, such bus and rail, right across the country, we must make sure those who have issues with accessibility and those with disabilities and special needs are catered for like any other passenger or any other customer. Just this week the Taoiseach convened a meeting on disabilities. The programme for Government is very strong in the area of disabilities. It has to be something on which all of us as Oireachtas Members, in government and in opposition, work hard together to deliver.”
“The bus is showing up on the app but then it just disappears and is gone. I have met with agencies and bus operators on that. A full review is being done on what happened recently and a new app will come forward as well. We really need to improve that and be more customer focused. Some of these issues relate to an inability to fill vacancies for drivers and mechanics. We need clearer sight of the risks to our transport system, particularly for operators that are winning contracts. I would say to the NTA and others that when we are assessing contracts and new routes, we need to make sure the business and resource plan is robust and there is headroom and contingency within the plan to deal with things like absences and vacancies.”
“Since the launch of the Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan and bus services in the towns, 150 new or enhanced bus services have been introduced under Connecting Ireland, providing 190 new towns and villages with connections to the transport network. That is significant. The NTA is upgrading bus stop infrastructure on a phased basis throughout Ireland. Better route and timetable information is being provided at all stops. As we are touching on that, punctuality is critical and information is critical for commuters. I have publicly announced my displeasure in recent weeks with the phenomenon of ghost buses - that is the technical term, or at least the term that people understand - and buses not turning up as scheduled. It is a major frustration for people trying to get to work and trying to get to events.”
“The Government has an ambitious vision to transform transport services and infrastructure nationwide. We can do that. We have a national development plan that underpins this. We will have a review of the NDP. As the Minister for Transport, I can say that we will do our level best to secure the additional investment that is needed. If we are to unlock the potential we have across our regions, we have to improve our public transport. From the perspective of our climate targets, our environment and our quality of life, we will be doing that. We have been successful so far. There were many detractors over the years, including when we were developing the Luas and the Luas cross city, the Dublin Port tunnel and all of the various plans. We have Cork light rail coming on track. A lot of good things will be in place.”
“We cannot have that. It is critically important that we move forward with it. With regard to public transport services, I have reiterated to our partners that a customer focus is absolutely required across the board. As part of that, we are enhancing services under programmes such as Connecting Ireland and BusConnects. We are implementing further early morning and more late-night bus services. Dublin and Cork already have some 24-hour bus services and more are to follow, with plans for Limerick and Galway through BusConnects. We have opportunities to do more there. Hours of operation of many town and city bus service have been expanded. Irish Rail has increased the number of early-morning and late-evening train services between Dublin and the regional cities.”
“We have to put the pressure on. I want all our transport agencies, and in particular our operators, to be more customer focused. We talk in big investment terms about new routes and rightly so, including the MetroLink that we will see. I was at the launch of the MetroLink project in 2005. This speaks about Irish planning. We are 20 years on and we have not a sod turned on projects like that. It takes too long to deliver projects. This is why in this House in the last Oireachtas I brought forward the Planning and Development Act 2024. Senator Noonan is here and he was a key part of that. Thankfully the Government of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, supported by some Independents, passed that legislation because we need that legislation. Other opposed it and that would mean we are just doing the same things again and delaying project delivery.”
“In April 2023, the NTA in its position as regulator published a new national fares strategy and last year published its fare determination aimed at simplifying fares and introducing more a equitable distance-based structure. There are anomalies along the line. Senator Clifford-Lee mentioned the northern line. Newbridge has also been mentioned. For people who are further away, there are quite significant increases in rail fares. The first phase of that fares determination was introduced last June. My Department is engaging with the NTA on phase 2 right now. The implementation of the rail element of phase 2 requires technical updates to systems and machines, Leap cards and various things. I am expecting that to be completed in the coming months. I want to see if that can be sped up. I have had initial meetings with the NTA.”
“I want to assure Members that I have already started work on this. There have been discussions with the Minister for Justice, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan. This would be a transport security force established under the NTA. The primary drivers of the legislation will sit within me and my Department. I have already asked and work is already being prepared on that. I expect I will come to this House with legislative changes. It is critically important we do that. I want to see that up and running as expeditiously as possible. It will need to be underpinned by legislation. Senators O'Loughlin and Clifford-Lee have already mentioned fairer fares.”
“We can make things easier for them there in the system. I will also touch on transport security and then I will come back to the NDP. People need to feel safe on our public transport systems across the country, particularly on our buses, trains and the Luas. Let us be frank and say that in some instances people do not feel safe. We have seen far too much antisocial behaviour on our public transport systems. I am very pleased that within the programme for Government there is a key commitment, which Fianna Fáil made in our manifesto, for the establishment of a transport police. I pay tribute to Senator Fitzpatrick for the role she played in that regard along with other Dublin Oireachtas Members such as Senator Clifford-Lee and our Fine Gael colleagues who agreed to our proposals.”
“To support this objective my Department has secured just short of €660 million of funding for public service obligation, PSO, and Local Link services. Both Senators have already mentioned the importance of these services, particularly in our rural communities. I want to see a further expansion of those services. The €660 million package includes funding for the continuation of existing various public service fare initiatives and for the extension of free child fares on PSO services to include children between five and eight years of age. We need to get that in. That was agreed before and we need to get that implemented this year. I will also look further at how we can extend that around secondary schools to kids who have reached the age of 16 - those teenagers aged 16 to 18 who are still in school.”
“He probably will. I appreciate that the motion is very timely. I will address some of the points that Senators O'Loughlin and Clifford-Lee raised. We are not opposing the motion. It is very much in line with the programme for Government commitments that Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the regional group crafted and put together. Public transport is critically important to the growth of our country and, as Senator Clifford-Lee said, to people's quality of life. More and more people are using public transport. That is good and we need to support it. We need to increase infrastructure throughout the country. The Seanad will be aware that in the programme for Government, Securing Ireland's Future, we are strongly committed to enhancing transport networks and infrastructure development. Public transport has a key role to play in this.”
“I thank the proposer of the motion, Senator O'Loughlin, the seconder, Senator Clifford-Lee, and the other Fianna Fáil Senators for tabling this important motion. I thank the Cathaoirleach for his kind words of welcome. I congratulate the new Senators who have been elected to the Upper House and the existing Senators who have been returned. I assure the Seanad that in my attendance during the previous Oireachtas I valued this House. I value the Seanad and Senators' input both for legislation and motions such as this. They can be assured that whenever I can be available to attend here, I will be. I congratulate Senator O'Loughlin on her appointment as Leader of the House and the Cathaoirleach on his second term. I will not use any US comparisons on second terms.”
“I will also advance with the RSA additional driver testing centres. I will keep the Deputies and the Oireachtas committee informed of progress. I look forward to the contributions in the debate from Members opposite from all parties, Independents and from the Government. I will listen to the debate intently.”
“There should be a driver testing centre in Drogheda. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, will meet the RSA shortly. I am sure the Deputies opposite are doing likewise. He will discuss the concerns. I will also continue to do so. The motion is in line with the principles and policies of the Government in terms of defining expectations for service levels. State agencies across the board, and those in my remit, need to focus on the customer and on delivering the service. The backlog was there because of circumstances, particularly through Covid when it was difficult to carry out tests. People remember social distancing. A backlog built up. That is a fact and a reality. It had to be dealt with. Waiting times did reduce but they did not reduce far enough. The 70 additional posts focused on the right areas will help.”
“I am interested in the points that have been raised about the reasons certain potential driver testing centres have been refused. I will look into this and I intend to engage with the RSA. It manages its capital programme and staff. I do not do so. However, I want to see this situation improve. We can do so with the additional posts in place, focusing them on the areas with the greatest of need. I have also dealt with young people and not-so-young people who are waiting for new jobs and new positions and who are dependent on their ability to get a timely driver test. I welcome that the healthcare worker prioritisation will remain in place. These are matters I will address directly with the RSA. I am also aware that, in the case of Drogheda, lengthy engagements and extensive searches, as have been outlined, have taken place.”
“This will help us move progressively to work towards the ten-week service level agreement target as new testers are trained and brought on board. Furthermore, the RSA believes the permanent positions now available will attract and retain a higher number of driver testers so that progress in tackling waiting times can be better sustained. With regard to the Deputies' concerns about the number of driver testing centres, I note the point made by the Deputy from Louth specifically on Drogheda. I also note the fact she might inform her colleague from Cavan-Monaghan that she has acknowledged the 5,000 new homes being built in Drogheda. Drogheda is, indeed, the fastest growing town in the country. The RSA will regularly collaborate with the OPW.”
“This was done in September last year. The total permanent sanctioned driver test headcount today is 200, representing a doubling of the permanent headcount in just over two years. There have been 100 extra since June 2022. I understand the recruitment campaign to hire additional driver testers is at an advanced stage. Offers are being made to new recruits and are being prioritised for areas experiencing the longest waiting times. These resources will go in particular to the areas where the longest wait times are being experienced. A recruitment campaign of this size takes time. Deputies may appreciate that, or they may not, but it was sanctioned in September 2024 and the posts will be and are being filled.”
“The Opposition motion questions, as is its right, recruiting driver testers on a temporary basis. It was the right decision at the time, particularly after the pandemic, to see how the increased number would deal with the backlog. It is also important to highlight that average driver testing times over the period significantly improved. The average went from a peak of more than 30 weeks in August 2023 to 14.9 weeks in 2024. However, the total number of testers in employment at any point never exceeded 176. As I outlined, it declined in 2024. Following its long-term assessment of capacity requirements, the RSA prepared a business case for the permanent sanction of additional driver testers. On receipt of the business case, the Department moved swiftly to sanction 70 additional driver testing posts on a permanent basis.”
“To try to meet the demand, there was extensive working of overtime by driver testers to mitigate the impact on customers, an incentive programme for testers to deliver additional tests, the introduction of the short-notice cancelled slot system and the continuation of a priority list for healthcare workers, which I believe is very important. In total more than 250,000 tests were delivered last year. None of the Deputies opposite mentioned the 250,000 tests carried out last year. I have sought to support the RSA in meeting this demand and in addressing the issue of lengthy driver test waiting times by sanctioning additional driver tester positions to increase capacity in the system. Deputies have alluded to the fact that in March 2023 fixed-term contracts were given to 75 additional driver testers, for contracts of up to two years.”