THE COST of sitting a driving test has increased to €75 for cars and €110 for larger commercial vehicles.
The new charges imposed by the Road Safety Authority (RSA), which came into effect for all those applying for driving tests from yesterday, see prices rise from €38 for car tests.
The RSA claims the current State subsidy for driving tests – estimated at €22 million – is “no longer sustainable”.
According to Noel Brett, chief executive of the RSA: “The fee for a driving test has remained unchanged for the past 17 years, and we are seeking to move towards the full economic cost of delivering the test.
“In 2008, the driving test service was subsidised by €22 million and this is no longer sustainable.”
He said that in 2008, some 40,000 applicants failed to turn up for the test, while many cancelled at short notice.
“As of today there are 40,113 people waiting for their test and the national average waiting time is under 10 weeks. In a number of centres, we now offer tests within six weeks,” he said.
“In addition, the RSA has progressed with regulation of the driving instruction industry which guarantees a standard level of tuition for learner drivers.
“We are currently engaged in a review of learning to drive in Ireland and, on completion, will be bringing forward enhancements to the driving test.”
The price hike comes in the week that SGS Ireland is to end its provision of privatised driver testing for the RSA. That decision was made just months into an agreement in which the private company was to carry out up to 70,000 tests this year.
SGS employs 26 driver testers on a contract basis and these employees are expected to be laid off.
The absence of a private testing company to meet spikes in demand places both the RSA and Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey under pressure to maintain their commitment to an average waiting time of 10 weeks or less for a test.
Earlier this year, the RSA went to the Labour Relations Commission to secure the option of privatised tests, in the face of strong opposition from unions representing testers and staff employed by the State.
