The average waiting time for a driving test is now 20 weeks, according to statistics released by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey.

He pointed out however that "applicants who require a test for urgent reasons are being given earlier appointments; about 44 per cent of applicants are tested within 15 weeks".

There were 380,000 drivers with provisional licences on the road up to January 2000 but figures for January this year were not yet available.

The Minister also stated in replies to written questions that 30,230 speeding cases were detected by fixed speed cameras last year, but the figures for prosecutions were unavailable.

Mr Dempsey was replying to written questions from Mr Denis Naughten (FG, Longford-Roscommon), Mr Charles Flanagan (FG, Laois-Offaly) and Mr Bernard Allen (FG, Cork North-Central).