Dublin: Due to systemic overcrowding and inefficiencies, drivers holding multiple provisional licenses in Ireland are currently exempt from prosecution, according to the Department of Transport. Officials caution that enforcing penalties under the current system could severely disrupt driving tests. At the end of last year, 230,000 learner permit holders had not yet taken a driving test, including 32,000 who were on their third or more provisional licenses. Records prior to 2009 are incomplete, and it remains unclear how many individuals took their learner tests between 1994 and 2008. Some drivers have been operating with provisional licenses for decades without facing legal consequences.
Authorities have refrained from taking action to avoid exacerbating the backlog of driving test applications, which already faces a ten-week waiting period. For example, of the 317 individuals who held learner permits in 1994, 117 have not taken a test since 2009. Similarly, 327 drivers on provisional licenses since 1995 show that 124 have not completed a test in 15 years. The figures continue to rise, with 414 individuals from 1996 and 463 from 1998 still holding provisional licenses.
The Department of Transport warns that any drastic changes limiting the number of provisional licenses a person can hold could lead to a surge in test applications, further straining an already overwhelmed system. A report published in May highlighted that reforming the system would be a highly complex process, requiring significant changes across many areas of the Road Safety Authority (RSA). However, it also acknowledged that any such system overhaul would take at least two years to implement.
Efforts are underway to modernise the driver education and testing infrastructure with support from Microsoft. Disqualification records are now automatically updated, addressing “fringe cases” more efficiently. A Department of Transport spokesperson reaffirmed the government’s commitment to addressing long-term drivers on learner permits and reducing the driver testing backlog. A year-on-year 23% increase in driving test applications has further compounded the issue, but the hiring of additional testers aims to cut wait times to under ten weeks.
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