"The RSA is effectively trolling my hometown"- Louth TD hits out at lack of driving test centre
TDs voice concern over the ongoing absence of a driving test centre in Drogheda
In a recent Dáil debate on driving test wait times Louth TDs Ged Nash (LAB) and Joanna Byrne (SF) voiced strong concerns over the ongoing absence of a driving test centre in Drogheda.
Deputy Nash criticised the RSA’s handling of the situation. He highlighted that Drogheda, despite its size and status as a major urban centre, has been left without a permanent driving test centre since the closure of a temporary facility at a local football club two years ago. The RSA, he claimed, failed to make any meaningful progress towards identifying a suitable site for a new centre.
Deputy Nash said: “ The RSA decided it would not renew that contract this time two years ago, leaving Drogheda without any form of driving test centre. What did it do?
“It blamed the local residents when an arrangement was to be made with all of the stakeholders to seek to extend that temporary accommodation to allow for the identification of a site for a permanent test centre in the area. You could not make it up. The RSA is effectively trolling my hometown.
“A young holder of a provisional driving licence living in the Drogheda area will be waiting eight months for a test in Navan and five for a test in Dundalk.”
He called on the Minister to hold the RSA accountable and ensure that it delivers on its promise to establish a permanent test centre in Drogheda.
Deputy Byrne echoed these sentiments, criticising the Government and the RSA handling of the situation. She pointed out that the statutory maximum waiting time for a driving test is ten weeks, yet no test centre in the country is meeting this target.
She added that the waiting time for a test in Navan is 35 weeks and 23 weeks in Dundalk, forcing learners from Drogheda and surrounding areas to travel to unfamiliar locations, often impacting their test performance.
The RSA, according to Deputy Byrne, had inspected 14 potential sites in Drogheda last year, she continued: “Of those 14 sites, seven were deemed to be not suitable but no reason was given. Traffic was given as the reason for not allowing a centre at other sites. Can anyone in the Government or the RSA really state, with a straight face, that there are no traffic issues around any of the other driver testing routes throughout the State? In another one, the reason given was the presence of speed ramps. Traffic and speed ramps are a fact of life for all drivers, so it beggars belief that the RSA would not want drivers to be prepared for them.”
Responding to the concerns, Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien expressed his intention to engage with the RSA to understand why proposed sites in Drogheda were deemed unsuitable. He acknowledged that Drogheda, as the fastest-growing town in Ireland with 5,000 new homes underway, should indeed have its own driving test centre.