A call has been made to scrap the accompanied driver rule in response to seriously delayed driver test waiting times throughout the country.
Cathal Crowe TD told RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime programme that he has talked to people who have lost out on employment and college places due to the nationwide backlog.
"Moms and dads can't drive every road in the country," he said, adding that the delays are hitting those in rural Ireland the hardest.
There are 47,000 'L plate' drivers waiting to be called up for their test in Ireland.
He refrenced the lack of public transport facilities in the west of Ireland, with one town, Kilrush, registering a 35 week waiting list. The national average is 19 weeks.
He said that following discussions, the RSA will now target younger drivers in rural counties through the hiring of additional testers for the likes of Clare, Galway and Mayo.
Deputy Crowe refernced a similar backlog in the 1980s when amnesty was granted to drivers. He admitted that in modern times, this "could be a bit wreckless."
"We need to look at easing the qualified driver rule," he told co-host Sarah McInerney.
Pushing back, Sarah stated that the accompanied driver rule was put in for safety reasons.
Deputy Crowe replied: "When someone applies for the test, they have undergone extensive training and a number of lessons, undergone rigorous theory testing."
He claimed younger L plate drivers are coming into test better equipped than years before.
What do you think, should the accompanied driver list be scrapped?
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