Number of test centres for foreign learners to increase

The number of driver theory test centres for learners whose first language is not English is set to expand.

The move is part of a new seven-year contract awarded to British company Prometric, the current operator of the State's driver theory test. Under the new contract, Prometric will expand both the range of tests and the number of centres for candidates for whom English is not a first language.

Last year Prometric tested 186,068 applicants for a car, bus, lorry and motorcycle licence in 41 centres, and the pass rate was around 65 per cent.

Applicants for a provisional driver's licence, now called a driver permit, must first pass the theory test.

Prometric saw off competition from two other companies to secure the contract.

A spokesman for the Road Safety Authority (RSA) said yesterday that Prometric would expand its operations to provide testing for driving instructors applying to the new statutory Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) register. From September this year, bus drivers will be required to hold a Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) and the theory element of this qualification will be provided by Prometric, he said.

This CPC requirement will be extended to lorry drivers from September 2009.

Although the RSA does not collect data on the number of non-Irish nationals taking the theory test, a spokesman said that facilities for foreign language testing were being expanded from two centres at present to "around five or six" across the State, in response to demand.

According to the RSA, the contract is "a self-financing process" although the financial details were not available. The test fee is €35.60, generating revenues of more than €6.6 million. Figures for 2007 show that 16,514 applicants did not appear for their test.

The board of the RSA has also appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers as consultants for the tender process for a new contract to provide the national car test.

A call for tenders for this nine-year contract - to run from January 2010 to December 2019 - is due to be issued shortly. The RSA board has decided to follow the current model of awarding the contract to a single operator.

The national car testing contract is currently held by SGS Ireland, which also conducts driver testing as part of a Government move to reduce the waiting times for a driving test.

According to data from the RSA, as of February 18th, more than 190,000 drivers were awaiting a driving test. Some 106,186 of these were waiting for a test with RSA testers, and a further 84,100 for a test with SGS.

The average waiting time for a driving test nationally with an RSA-tester was 14 weeks, with learner drivers in Shannon, Co Clare, having the longest wait at 22 weeks, followed by Tuam in Co Galway.

On the east coast, more than 5,010 drivers in Tallaght face a wait of 20 weeks, or almost five months.

Learner drivers in Sligo face the shortest wait of just seven weeks for an RSA-test. The RSA said it remains confident that the target of reducing the average waiting time for a test nationally to 10 weeks by June this year will be met.

The RSA said its testing capacity was being increased this month from 6,000 tests a week to 11,000, with the option of increasing it still further to 12,000 if required. At the end of January there were 426,000 provisional licence holders in the State.