The trade union that represents the State's driving testers has said it has "serious doubts" about the Minister for Transport's plan to cut waiting lists.
The Impact union also said it had not had detailed talks with the department on the plan, which will include the use of private testers and a bonus scheme for testers to increase productivity.
An embargo on the recruitment of testers will also be lifted.
It can take well over a year between applying and sitting the driving test. One of the longest waits is in Mr Martin Cullen's own constituency at the Dungarvan test centre, where the waiting time is 61 weeks.
The shortest waiting time is in Loughrea, Co Galway, where the turnaround is only 14 weeks.
Impact's Louise O'Donnell said she was "not convinced" that the use of private contractors, even on a temporary basis, would solve the problem.
She said there were not enough testers in Ireland, Northern Ireland or Britain available to do the job. "I'm not aware of any company that could provide that service.
She said a number of issues had not been addressed including:
- The need to ensure that all testers are trained to an adequate standard.
- The need for safeguards to ensure that driving tests are of adequate quality.
- The need for common testing standards across the State.
- The need for decisions on where new testing routes will be.
- The need for clarity on where testers will be based, because there is no spare capacity in existing testing centres.
- The need for supervision and quality control of driver testing.
"Clearing the backlog is important but maintaining and improving standards of road safety is vital," Ms O'Donnell said. "Testers would have to be taken off tests to train these people"
She also said Impact had received no details of the proposed bonus scheme for existing driver-testers.
"I am interested to see the proposals, not least because Irish testers currently do eight tests a day, which is 12.5 per cent above the European average of seven per day."
She added that testers would be willing to engage in overtime "as and where it is available" - possibly even in night-time tests.
She said the union had not entered detailed discussions with the Department of Transport on the issue but was meeting it on Thursday, May 19th.
Fine Gael spokeswoman on transport Olivia Mitchell welcomed the plans but warned that testing standards must not be allowed to slip.
"There is a danger . . . that this package may be too little too late," she said. "Last year Fine Gael pointed out that if the Government had recruited only eight extra driving testers, they could have conducted an additional 15,000 tests within a year.
"The Government itself is directly responsible for the current crisis because former transport minister Seamus Brennan announced plans to crack down on provisional driving licences without providing additional driving testers."
