Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
FIVE WEEKS HAVE been shaved off average driving test waiting times since the start of the month, as the Road Safety Authority (RSA) responds to political pressure to reduce the backlog.
Brendan Walsh, who is in charge of driver testing at the RSA, told The Journal that by July the average wait should be down to 18 weeks, from 22 weeks as of yesterday and 27 weeks at the end of April.
“Come July, we would hope to start seeing really, really big decreases, starting at around 18 weeks and then driving on down,” Walsh said.
He added that staff have stepped up by working Saturdays and bank holidays to clear the backlog. Forty-one new testers have started work and 50 more will be in place by the end of the summer.
The government is pushing the RSA to hit a long-standing target that waiting times should average 10 weeks. The agency has been told to meet this goal by September.
The RSA published its plan to achieve this aim this morning. The RSA’s testing system is dealing with “unprecedented” demand for driving tests, with 100,000 currently wait to be tested.
Over 250,000 tests were completed by the agency last year, the highest number ever – but still not enough to clear the backlog.
The RSA is opening more testing centres and expanding testing hours, with tests to run from 07:25am to 7pm going forward, it said today.
It said it will also use a targeted booking system so that areas with greatest demand will be allocated slots proportionally.
Work to deal with the testing backlog began almost a year ago, Walsh said.
The RSA sought government approval to recruit significantly more driving testers – equivalent to a 20% increase in the organisation’s headcount – last June. However, it took some time for this recruitment process, which was approved by government last September, to be completed.
Sam Waide, chief executive officer at the RSA, apologised this morning to those who have been waiting a long time to get tested.
“We know how frustrating and disruptive these delays are — especially for people who need a licence for work, college, or caring responsibilities,” Waide said in a statement.
The RSA will publish progress updates on wait times every fortnight on its website.
“We’re asking customers to support the effort by cancelling early if they cannot attend, so that appointments can be offered to others. Every cancelled slot that’s re-used helps us reduce the backlog faster,” said Waide.
“Also, we’re urging customers to ensure they prepared for their test as over 4,000 tests so far this year couldn’t be conducted for reasons such as vehicles without a valid NCT, Tax, Insurance or not deemed roadworthy.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
I bough basil, thyme, parsley, mint and coriander in Lidl and planted them outside and they are thriving. My herb shopping days are truly over.
IYou are lucky to get basil to thrive Derek,it can be a challenge in the Irish climate. As for mint, I hope you didn’t make the mistake of planting it in the open garden.
Both basil plants are sturdy and healthy looking thankfully and the mint, both of them got a bit of a pruning as they were growing to tall and stalky initially but doing well now. Is there something about mint I should know when grown outdoors?
I think mint plants tend to overtake flower beds. Like little Borg plants.
As Nicholas has touched on Derek, mint is an absolute thug, it will spread everywhere and is very difficult to control or eradicate. I would suggest you dig it out immediately and plant it in a pot, make sure you get every last bit.
As far as basil is concerned, it is unlikely to survive too long in the open ground in Ireland, too wet too dull and too cold. It needs to be in a pot in a sunny spot.
Sorry, I should have got what you meant, the mint is spreading all right but I do grab a few leaves for the kitchen and snip it back occasionally.
They spread their roots under ground and take over. Should have planted them in a container. On the plus side you’ll have plenty of mint next year.
That’s good to know, thank you, I’ll see about digging them out and potting them before they get out of hand.
the price of some native fruit here in the supermarkets is off the wall. when I think of my grandmothers garden and the stuff she used to grow. literally hundreds of Euro worth of stuff at today’s prices and at the time we didn’t think anything of it.
Great tips there, never heard of pine mouth before. Any way of knowing if the pine nuts are contaminated before you eat them? I love pine nuts, especially roasted in salads.
I had a bout of pine mouth a few years ago, was nasty and lasted about a week. It’s one of those things that isn’t really understood but anecdotally is thought to come more from imported Chinese pine nuts.
I haven’t touched pine nuts since either as it takes a few days to develop do there’s no way to tell if it’s coming.
Every drug dealers nightmare. A marijuana plant facing their house.
They grow very well in the tomatoe patch, just make sure your garden wall is high enough for a healthy plant to hide behind ;)
when i lived abrod i tryed to grow maruana but i kiled it by acident nd tryed to smoke dog poo insted lol. it is bad.
Sounds like a random thing you’d do anyway Ripper..
anonymous accounts can be funny at times but please give it a rest. there’s an open mic night near the HA penny bridge if you want to give reality a go
tank u jimmy. kevin will u go with me plz?
I love thyme and some other herbs and have tried to grow them in pots or window boxes but they didn’t last very long and were very poor to begin with. I must be doing the same caring things because I have tried a few times and failed. Very frustrating ! When my daughter moved house there was a beautiful Rosemary bush grown in the garden. Nice bonus !
I just checked the area under my nose and I found three varieties of herb.
A wash might help that, lol.
The live herb plants in supermarkets are really cheap and on par price wise with the few sprigs you get on the cellophane.
More of these please!
I had a rosemary bush in my garden every now and then I would spot a lady going into my garden and taking a snippet. The scent of rosemary was lovely but the bush became too much and I got rid of it.
I saw rosemarys bush one time,messy
Will someone tell me why no one grows Artemisia abrotanum (southernwood, lad’s love, southern wormwood) as it is as powerful smelling as any herb and no one grows it in their herb garden as it repels certain insects but is not for eating but a powerful smelling plant.
Borage is good for bees and a tea is made from the leaves that has herbal properties…
I have lovage as it smells nice and winter savory but never used them to cook with, some herbs can be nice just to have them due to what they smell like. With rosemary and hyssop which I grow as a flowering plant as well, these herbs can shoot up your blood pressure, so care needed there?
have your say