Waiting period for driving tests in Kildare North slammed in Dáil

A Sinn Féin TD for Kildare North has slammed the waiting period for driving tests in the north county.

Deputy Réada Cronin raised the issue in the Dáil on Wednesday, May 14.

According to Deputy Cronin, as of last month, people in her constituency were waiting an average of 28 weeks for a driving test in Naas.

This waiting period was 24 weeks in April 2024 and a “staggering” 31 weeks in April the year before, she said.

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“In a reply to a parliamentary question on waiting times last September, I was informed by the Department of Transport that it was doing all it could to alleviate waiting times by sanctioning the employment of an additional 70 driving testers”, Deputy Cronin told the House.

“Yet, the backlog has ballooned by more than 10,000 since the start of this year.

“In February, Sinn Féin brought forward a Private Members' motion on this matter and highlighted lots of different ways the Government could tackle it. Tá faic déanta ag an Rialtas faoi (the government has done nothing about it.)

“Now, people are waiting a long time just to get a test, ag fanacht agus ag fanacht (waiting and waiting).”

Deputy Cronin said there is a need to reduce emissions by encouraging people “to leave the car at home”, but with the “shambles” that is the public transport service in north Kildare, “the Government has left people with no option.”

Fine Gael TD for Kildare North, Joe Neville also weighed in on the argument.

“I will continue in the same vein as some of the other Deputies from across the country. People from my constituency also use test centres in neighbouring constituencies. People from north Kildare would have used Fonthill in the past, but they now use Tallaght and Naas predominantly. We have seen wait times increase”, he said.

“My colleague in north Kildare, Deputy Cronin, referenced a 28-week waiting time in Naas while her colleague referenced 43 weeks in Tallaght. Those are the waiting times for people in north Kildare.

“When I looked at the website today, the first note I saw from the RSA said that a reasonable waiting time would be between ten and 12 weeks. Obviously, we are missing those basic targets.”

Deputy Neville said he did not know whether it is due to the pandemic or the subsequent impacts, but, in terms of waiting periods for driving tests in Kildare North, “we seem to be back to where we were in 2010 and 2011.”

“The impacts are the same as they were when we went to do the test. Somebody looking to get a job or a student starting college needs to drive, which is becoming more common because of the lack of or difficulties with student housing as people come to Maynooth University. We know bus and rail services are under pressure. My constituency has seen increased fares in the third area of the county”, he said.

“I welcome the work of the Minister of State and the opportunity to discuss it with him on behalf of the citizens of north Kildare.”

According to Kildare North TD Deputy Naoise O'Cearúil (FF), who also spoke on the issue, a total of 4,024 people in Kildare North are currently waiting for a driving test.

While the national average waiting time in March 2025 stood at 24.1 weeks, he said, in Kildare North it is 30 weeks.

Deputy O'Cearúil pointed out that the “difficulty” lay in the fact that there is only one test centre in Kildare, which is based in Naas, and there is no other test centre throughout the county.