Fine Gael TD for Limerick Patrick O’Donovan has been told by the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar that the delays being experienced by people applying for new drivers licences will be examined. Patrick O’Donovan raised the issue with the Minister in the Dáil, and said that since the introduction of the new scheme he had received calls from people who had to wait up to four and a half hours for a licence.
Patrick O’Donovan told the Minister for Transport that he believes Co. Limerick has a special case for additional staff and possibly a second part-time centre to be located in the county. He said that following the introduction of the new scheme that the up to 250,000 would not have a centre within 50km of their residence and this was something which needed to be addressed. In replying to Patrick O’Donovan, the Minister for Transport acknowledged that the points which the Limerick TD raised were legitimate and he committed to raising them with the Road Safety Authority.
Leo Varadkar also told Patrick O’Donovan that he would raise the possibility of a mobile service to cover remote and rural areas with the Road Safety Authority, who have the contract for the issuing of drivers licences.
Speaking after raising the issue in the Dáil, Patrick O’Donovan, who is a member of the Oireachtas Transport Committee, said that he would also be raising the issue at the Transport Committee and would be asking that the Road Safety Authority appear before the committee to provide an update on the implementation of the new process.