It’s claimed Clare learner drivers have been stuck in neutral amid ongoing lengthy waits for tests.
Average waiting times at two test centres in the county remain above the national average.
The Road Safety Authority last week announced significant progress in reducing national driving test waiting times to 13.5 weeks, following the implementation of it’s Driving Test Action Plan, launched in May.
The plan sets out a waiting times target of 10 weeks by September.
At the end of July, waiting times for a Category B car test invitation in Ennis dropped to 19 weeks from a high of 24 weeks at the end of April, while the waiting time at Shannon was 14 weeks, down from a high of 24 weeks at the end of March.
In Kilrush, the figure stood at 10 weeks at the end of July, down from high of 25 weeks at the end of February.
Today, the average wait for a test is 14 weeks in Ennis, 12 weeks in Shannon, while in Kilrush the wait is above the national average at 15 weeks.
Bodyke-based Fine Gael Deputy Joe Cooney believes learner drivers in Clare are being short-changed and that the RSA’s delivery is falling far short of what was promised in May.
The RSA’s Action Plan committed to expanding testing hours to include weekday evenings, Saturdays and bank holidays.
However figures provided to Deputy Cooney show testing only took place at the Kilrush centre on one Bank Holiday between May 22nd and July 9th and Saturday testing only took place in Shannon on three Saturdays.
The RSA says neither Kilrush nor Shannon have sufficient demand to warrant a driver tester being permanently assigned, with Kilrush receiving an average of 22 applications per week and Shannon 30.
Ennis-based Driving instructor, Chris Curran believes, however, an increase in the number of testers in Clare is urgently needed.
Statement from the RSA
The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has made significant progress in reducing national driving test waiting times, surpassing its own mid-August target and moving closer to meeting its Service Level Agreement goal.
As of 14 August 2025, the average national waiting time for a driving test invitation has dropped to 13.5 weeks — well ahead of the RSA’s target of 16 weeks for this stage. This is an improvement from 14.1 weeks two weeks previously, and half the 27-week peak recorded at the end of April.
This progress follows the implementation of the RSA’s Driving Test Action Plan, launched in May in response to an unprecedented surge in demand. The plan sets out a clear path to bringing the average waiting time down to the SLA target of 10 weeks by September.
In Clare, at the end of July 2025 Ennis had dropped to 19 weeks from a high of 24 weeks at the end of April. The waiting time at Shannon at the end of July was 14 weeks, down from a high of 24 weeks at the end of March, and Kilrush finished July at 10 weeks, down from high of 25 weeks end February.
Neither Kilrush nor Shannon have sufficient demand to warrant a driver tester being permanently assigned, with Kilrush receiving an average of 22 applications per week and Shannon 30. When required, testers can and do move between counties to conduct higher category driving tests.
Finally, it is worth noting that overtime is non-compulsory, though a lot of the RSA driver testers have opted to provide overtime which has helped to drive down the driver testing backlog.
