Waiting times for the driving test will be cut from an average of 10 months to less than 10 weeks by the end of 2006, the Minister for Transport has pledged.
Announcing details of a plan to tackle long waiting lists at 48 testing centres, Martin Cullen said his department would be recruiting a private contractor to carry out 40,000 tests on a once-off basis.
An embargo on the recruitment of official testers is also being lifted, to raise the department's workforce by 10 to 132.
All testers will be able to avail of a bonus scheme that will reward them for extra productivity, which, according to the department, will deliver another 40,000 tests in the next 18 months.
A spokesman said its target was to clear the backlog of 124,250 tests by the end of next year, thereby reducing average waiting times to weeks.
The trade union Impact, which represents driver testers in the State, said it had serious doubts about the proposals.
Union official Louise O'Donnell said a number of practical issues, mostly relating to road safety, had not been addressed. They included the need to train testers to an adequate standard, to ensure the quality of the test was unaffected, and for common testing standards across the State.
She was disappointed there had been no prior engagement with Impact, although a date for a meeting was agreed yesterday with the department.
"Clearing the backlog is important. But maintaining and improving standards of road safety is vital. It's important to remember that the State's driver testers are not responsible for this backlog," she said, pointing out that the waiting lists had been reduced, but then the Government announced changes to the rules for provisional licence-holders two years ago.
The number of people taking the test surged from 180,000 in 2001 to 234,000 in 2003 after former minister Séamus Brennan announced he would be outlawing the practice of driving on a provisional licence for extended periods.
Fine Gael's transport spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell also expressed concern at the possibility of standards slipping.
Although she welcomed the plan to reduce the backlog, she said Mr Cullen "must ensure that driving test standards are at least maintained throughout the process, if not improved".
The department spokesman said: "There will be no change in standards. It will be deliberately stipulated that that will be the case."
