Number of provisional drivers up almost 25,000 last year
The number of motorists driving on provisional licences increased by almost 25,000 last year, according to the latest statistics published by the Department of the Environment.
The figures show that 404,607 provisional drivers were on the road last year, an increase of 24,360 on the previous year.
This represents around one in six of all the motorists using Ireland's roads.
The situation is caused by an ongoing backlog in driving tests that the Government is attempting to tackle by allowing private companies to conduct thousands of tests in the coming months.
Reports this morning say more than 16,000 driving tests were cancelled over the past 18 months due to sick days taken by the current testers, who are all public servants.
The testers reportedly took an average of 10.5 sick days last year, compared to a national average of 7.8 days among the rest of the workforce.
