Learner drivers in Raheny , north Dublin, must wait at least six months before being “invited to apply” for a driving test, with up to another five weeks’ delay before getting an appointment.
This is the longest waiting time in the State and more than twice the 10-week national target.
The latest waiting times were revealed as it emerged that 160 driving tests had to be cancelled in Tallaght, southwest Dublin, this year because of a delay in the completion of tests before close of business.
Testers have asked the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to increase set test times from 50 minutes to 55 minutes as learners are delayed by traffic getting to the test centre at certain times.
Some applicants also have difficulties completing paperwork where English is not their first language.
An RSA spokesman said measures to alleviate congestion in Tallaght, one of the busiest in the country, include a reduction in test slots from eight to seven “on the busiest day in the centre”.
The RSA has also reiterated its request to instructors not to use the test centre car park “as a meeting point for driving lessons”, adding to congestion and to attend only when pupils are present for their test.
The authority said it was “actively exploring options” for an additional test centre as an “overflow facility for Tallaght” and “an agreement in principle has been agreed with a landlord”.
Waiting times in Raheny rose from 17 weeks on May 28th to 25 weeks on Friday.
RSA driving test waiting times 15-06-2026
Anyone in Raheny applying for a test now must wait until November 30th before being “invited” to select an appointment time in the following three to five weeks, which could bring their test date into 2027.
Dún Laoghaire in south Co Dublin and Mulhuddart in the west of the city have previously had the longest waiting times .
Dún Laoghaire waiting times dropped from 21 weeks in March to 13 weeks in June. Waiting times at the Mulhuddart centre dropped just one week and have remained at 19 weeks for some time.
The figures were compiled by road safety campaign group Parc from RSA website data. The statistics show an average national waiting times of 12 weeks.
The driving test centre at Southgate in Drogheda, Co Louth, which opened last month, has a waiting time of 17 weeks, up a week from June 5th, although in Dundalk the waiting time is at the 10-week target.
Carlow test centre, Carnmore and Tuam, Co Galway have nine-week waiting times.
Ennis in Co Clare, Skibbereen and Mitchelstown in Co Cork, Donegal town, Sligo, Roscommon, Athlone in Co Westmeath, and Woodview in Co Limerick have all hit the 10-week national target.
Cavan, Buncrana in Co Donegal, Tralee in Co Kerry and Monaghan learners must wait 14 weeks, while there is a 15-week waiting time for drivers in Loughrea, Co Galway.
Susan Gray of road safety campaign group Parc said that if overtime for driver testers was restored or increased, it would “solve the problem” of cancelled tests in centres such as Tallaght.
She said this would go some way to “getting rid of the backlog” fuelling waiting times.
New regulations are coming in November to make it mandatory for all second-permit holders to complete a test before renewing a learner permit if they fail.
“The RSA will need to be well prepared because the floodgates are going to open then,” said Gray.
She said authority has still not reached its September 2025 target of 200 driver testers. It is understood the remaining nine to make up that number are currently in training.
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