Fórsa has renewed its call for urgent and sustained investment in the driving test service, warning that chronic understaffing and poor workforce planning are fuelling long delays and undermining public confidence in the system. 

The union said the current crisis is rooted in the Road Safety Authority’s sustained reliance on a ‘deficit model’ of employment, with the service running on insufficient human resources until a crisis prompts a public outcry. 

Delegates at the Services and Enterprises Divisional Conference, which took place in Galway last week, unanimously backed a motion instructing the union to press for immediate action from both Road Safety Authority (RSA) management and the Department of Transport. 

Driving tester and Fórsa member Robbie Christopher, speaking in support of the motion, said: “The service has been operating on a staffing deficit for far too long. It’s predictable and preventable. The result is public frustration, unnecessary delays, and growing pressure on frontline staff. We need a long-term staffing strategy, not another round of temporary measures.” 

The scale of the problem is stark. Latest figures show more than 100,000 people are currently waiting to sit a driving test, with average waiting times stretching to 27 weeks, which is nearly three times the RSA’s own ten-week target. 

Fórsa official Ruairí Creaney said the current crisis is the result of structural under-investment and a history of insecure employment practices at the RSA: 

“We’ve made progress. Fórsa has now secured permanent jobs for all driver testers, ending the cycle of temporary contracts. But we cannot afford to go backwards.” 

He said the union is pushing for an end to short-termism in the service’s management: 

“A deficit model cannot deliver for the public—or for staff. It creates a cycle of crisis, where demand keeps outpacing capacity. The Department of Transport and RSA must now take responsibility and commit to a clear, properly resourced staffing plan.” 

Delegates agreed that sustainable, long-term planning—rooted in secure employment and sufficient staffing levels—is the only way to meet demand and maintain public trust in the service. 

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