Ger Hyland, President of the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) , has questioned the Road Safety Authority (RSA) following a bizarre sequence of events that unfolded relating to driving licenses and tests in the past number of weeks.
Figures released to the national transport body under Freedom of Information (FOI) by the Road Safety Authority on Tuesday 15 April showed that there were 842,260 learner drivers on Irish roads at the end of March, 2025. Just over 13 days later, the RSA told RTE that the figure was 378,652.
As of yet, the Irish Road Haulage Association has received no further clarification on the seemingly incorrect figures it received under the Freedom of Information act 2014 from the Road Safety Authority. Ger Hyland (pictured right) has questioned whether the RSA know exactly how many learner drivers are on our roads: “The RSA seems confused. We got one set of figures from the RSA, under freedom of information. Public bodies have a duty to ensure that information released to the public under the Freedom of Information is accurate, complete, and not misleading. RTE were given a completely different set of figures for the number of learner drivers on our roads. All this shows clearly that the RSA is incapable of managing complex data sets. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Clearly the RSA is struggling with their data and I am saying that the driving test system is too important for our economy to be in the hands of an organisation that has mismanaged it”
He has described the situation as a scandal and has called for a root and branch review of the Road Safety Authority and its operation of the Irish driving test system. These figures coincide with recently released figures by the Gardaí which show a dramatic increase in some counties in the numbers of learner drivers caught driving unaccompanied. See table below.
The IRHA is of the opinion that an inadequate and backlogged testing regime is forcing young learner drivers out on the roads without a full license or a supervising driver. It is concerned for the safety of their drivers who are coming across inexperienced drivers on a daily basis on Irish roads.
New figures provided by Gardaí show dramatic increases in the number of learner drivers taking a chance and getting caught driving unaccompanied. In counties like Donegal, there was a 95% year on year increase in the number of unaccompanied drivers caught by Gardaí between 2023 and 2024. In the Sligo/Leitrim Garda division, the percentage increase was 83%.
Percentage change in the number of unaccompanied learner drivers caught by Gardaí between Q4 2023 and Q4 2024
| Garda Division | Q4 2023 | Q42024 | Percentage increase |
| Dublin Region | 839 | 1007 | 20% |
| Waterford/Kilkenny Carlow | 169 | 173 | 2.4% |
| Donegal | 20 | 39 | 95% |
| Galway | 79 | 107 | 35% |
| Louth, Cavan, Monaghan | 91 | 111 | 22% |
| Sligo/Leitrim | 18 | 33 | 83% |
| Cork City | 115 | 125 | 9% |
| Cork County | 100 | 121 | 21% |
| Kerry | 51 | 71 | 39% |
| Limerick | 65 | 89 | 37% |
| Clare/Tipp | 91 | 80 | -12% |
According to the IRHA, young drivers, in particular in rural Ireland, need their car to get to work, to college and significant delays in the driver testing system are forcing young learner drivers to make difficult choices.
Ger Hyland emphasised that his association is in no way condoning young learner drivers driving without a fully licensed driver. He pointed to the fact that more unaccompanied learner drivers on our roads presents a clear and present danger to both our member’s drivers and the wider public This is having a knock on impact on housing because “young apprentice trades people cannot get to work independently, on families because their children cannot drive to college and on business because learner drivers cannot get to work and are waiting over 6 months or longer for a driving test”
The IRHA President has called for a radical overhaul of our driving test system to include testing for motorway driving skills, night time driving and safe overtaking on secondary roads.
“The current 40 minute driving test allows for an approximate driving time of between 15 and 20 minutes, often in heavy urban slow moving traffic. This would be a great test of one’s ability to sit in a traffic jam, but if we are honestly testing driving skills and driver preparedness, the test as it stands is a shambolic exercise in raising funds for the RSA. The increases in the numbers of learner drivers caught driving unaccompanied is only the ones Gardaí are catching and we feel this is just the tip of the iceberg”
The Irish Road Haulage Association have called for driver education to be a part of the school curriculum and have suggested that each student would be vigorously tested in their ability to drive before they leave secondary school.