Waiting times at Killarney’s driving test centre are now almost double the national target.
This is according to figures from the Road Safety Authority, issued in response to a parliamentary question by Kerry TD and Sinn Féin spokesperson for transport, Deputy Pa Daly.
The statutory target is a 10-week waiting time, but learners in Killarney face an 18-week delay.
In Kerry’s other driving test centre, Tralee, the wait is 15 weeks, which is 50 per cent longer than the national target.
The longest delays nationally are in Navan, Co. Meath, where learners are waiting 35 weeks, or 8 months, for a test.
The total number of applications in Tralee and Killarney increased slightly between January and February.
There were 2,532 driving test applicants in Tralee and 2,081 in Killarney as of 28th February.
On the same date, 201 people had applied for their HGV test in Tralee.
Three in ten applications in Tralee and 35% in Killarney are classified as "paused" because applicants did not accept their test appointments within ten days of being offered them.
While, nearly one fifth of learners in Kerry (899) were not eligible to take the test when they applied.
Deputy Pa Daly believes the delays are pushing up the cost of learning to drive, with some learners spending over €3,000 before even getting a test due to higher insurance premiums and additional driving lessons.
He also claimed that shortages of bus and ambulance drivers are being exacerbated because new recruits cannot obtain their licences.
Deputy Daly accused the government of having no intention of tackling the backlog.
