The RSA had extra staff on standby to reduce the backlog in driver theory tests, but didn't have government approval to increase capacity.
The Road Safety Authority was responding to a parliamentary question asked by Fine Gael TD and Deputy Government Chief Whip Brendan Griffin about efforts to clear the backlog in driving and driver theory tests.
Deputy Brendan Griffin says the backlogs in both driving and driver theory tests is something of concern for a large number of Kerry people.
In June, he'd been assured by Minister Eamon Ryan that the backlog would be cleared in under four months.
The Road Safety Authority has told Deputy Griffin over 26,400 theory tests have been completed since the resumption of the service up to July 2nd.
It says the test provider had extra staff on standby to increase capacity from 25,000 to 50,000 tests monthly, however, there wasn't government approval to increase capacity at the time.
The RSA adds that, because of the delay, most of the standby staff are no longer available and it will take a number of weeks to secure additional staff.
This will begin once the government says testing numbers can increase.
The RSA says clearing the backlog depends on being able to test 50,000 monthly and it's expected to take three months, once testing at the higher rate gets underway.
