Government inaction leaves 72,000 learners stranded - Collins

Government inaction leaves 72,000 learners stranded

“This is a national failure, not just a rural one” — Michael Collins TD

Independent Ireland leader and Cork South West TD Michael Collins has condemned the Government’s ongoing failure to address soaring driving test waiting times, warning that the crisis has now spread from rural Ireland to urban centres like Dublin.

Speaking after reports revealed that learner drivers in Tallaght are facing waits of up to 35 weeks for a test, Deputy Collins said the situation is “completely unacceptable” and reflects a “systemic collapse” in the Road Safety Authority’s (RSA) ability to deliver a basic public service.

“I’ve been raising this issue for years on behalf of young people in West Cork who are waiting eight to ten months for a test,” said Deputy Collins. “Now, Dublin is feeling the same pain — and it’s clear this Government has no plan to fix it.”

The Cork TD highlighted that over 72,000 people are currently on the waiting list, with some test centres reporting delays of up to 51 weeks. “That’s nearly a year of people being unable to take up jobs, attend college, or support their families — all because of a backlog the Government has allowed to spiral out of control.”

Deputy Collins noted that while the RSA aims for a maximum waiting time of ten weeks, no test centre in the country is currently meeting that target. “In some areas, the wait is more than three times the official target. Despite commitments to recruit additional testers, the numbers have not materialised.

“This is not just a rural issue anymore. Urban centres are now experiencing the same delays, highlighting the nationwide scope of the problem.”

Deputy Collins reiterated his call for immediate action, including the expedited recruitment of permanent driving testers, the establishment of additional test centres, and a comprehensive review of the RSA’s capacity to manage the crisis.

“The Government must act now to restore faith in the system and ensure that learner drivers are not left in limbo.”

Cllr Linda de Courcy, who has consistently raised concerns about gender ideology and the encroachment on women’s spaces also welcomed the decision stating: 

"I was delighted to see the ruling of the UK Supreme Court returning truth and common sense to our nearest neighbours on Tuesday. The judges unanimously ruled that the term woman means a “biological woman” and sex means “biological sex”.

"It is shocking that in the 21st century we have to have a court overrule a government to pull them back to the most basic of truths, there are two sexes, male and female and two genders, male and female."

"Trans ideology is inherently damaging to women and girls, depriving us of our right to single sex, safe spaces and the ability to compete fairly in sports. Unfortunately, the 2015 Gender Recognition Act is still in force in the 26 counties, this means we have biological men in women’s prisons and teenage boys playing in girls sports"

O'Flynn Raises GRA Concern;

TD O'Flynn Continued
“In fact, the GRA is a clear example of what legislative violence to the understanding of what constitutes a woman looks like, and it has to repealed if we want to our laws to reflect reality.”

“I would go further and say that the GRA in its current format actively facilitates the increased likelihood of physical and psychological violence against women because of the manner in which our prisons, our women’s refuges and singles sex spaces are violated by having to accommodate themselves to the wishes of those who self-ID as women, even though they remain fully biologically male.”

“Ireland must return to those core biological and legal realities that were accepted by the majority until the revolution in gender theory swept through our political institutions with the blessing of catastrophically well-meaning but dangerously deluded politicians who uncritically accepted NGO talking points while ignoring or being indifferent to the implications of the 2015 Gender Recognition Act for biological women and girls.”

“There is nothing progressive about pretending that men can be women. There is nothing progressive about sacrificing women’s rights on the altar of political expediency. And there is certainly nothing progressive in continuing to enforce a legislative regime that compels people to accommodate a private individual understanding of gender against a backdrop of cultural intimidation where people cannot state an obvious truth-men are not women and they never can be irrespective of what a piece of paper says to the contrary.”

“The UK Supreme Court ruling should give courage to all of us to defend biological truths. The time for cowardice or reticence is over.”