Almost 100,000 people are waiting to do their driving tests, the Dail was told. The average waiting time is 31 weeks, but at some testing centres this has risen to 40 weeks.

The Minister of State for the Environment, Mr Bobby Molloy, said 97,000 had applied for tests, 26,000 had been given appointments and a further 10,000 indicated that they were not currently available to be tested.

He said improvements would be implemented soon after a productivity agreement with driving testers and the appointment of more permanent and contract testers. The capacity for tests in November last year was 110,700 but when the increased numbers of testers take up duty the potential would be 202,500 a year.

Mr Molloy rejected an accusation by Mr Brian Hayes (FG, Dublin South West) that waiting time for tests had worsened since the Minister took office. Mr Hayes said that last year, 25 weeks was the average waiting time. Now it had increased to 31 weeks.

He said the delays were "having a seriously detrimental effect on road safety in that a larger group of unqualified drivers are driving without having a completed test".

Mr Molloy said, however, that "it is highly irresponsible of the deputy to suggest that, because a person holds a provisional licence there is a danger to people travelling on the road". He said there were no statistics to support that theory.

Mr Eamon Gilmore (Lab, Dun Laoghaire) then intervened and asked: "What then is the point of a test?" Mr Molloy said the problem in waiting times arose in 1996 when applications for tests rose by 20 per cent. In 1998 there was an increase of 23 per cent resulting in an all-time record of 146,000 test applicants. He said the failure rate was 56 per cent.