Hauliers accuse RSA 'of moving deck chairs around Titanic' by switching truck driving testers to car test centres
The Irish Road Haulage Association said the RSA had diverted testing resources from commercial testing into car testing under 'intense political pressure', and it comes at a time when the haulage sector is desperately short on drivers.
'Young Irish drivers who need a license to drive a bus, truck or HGV cannot get licenses because the RSA have all but stopped commercial testing to focus on car testing,' the hauliers group president Ger Hyland said.
'They have pulled the wool over this Government's eyes and instead of dealing with the high demand for testing, they decided to simply move the deck chairs around the Titanic.'
During the summer, the RSA has been ramping up its efforts to reduce waiting times for drivers hoping to sit their test, with times of well over six months being reported in some centres earlier this year. This has included dozens of additional testers and the extension of operating hours.
Last week, the RSA said the average waiting time for a driving test had reduced to 14.4 weeks from a peak of 27 weeks at the end of April. It said it remained on course to bring average waiting times down to 10 weeks by September.
However, hauliers pointed to CSO data which shows a sharp increase in the number of applicants waiting for an articulated truck licence test in recent months, compared to a decrease in the numbers waiting for a car driving test.
Furthermore, there was a fall in the number of tests scheduled for category C truck licences compared to an increase for car licence tests.
Mr Hyland said: 'One HGV driving instructor in Kerry told us that he didn't have a scheduled commercial driving test in the Tralee centre since May and wasn't expecting one until at least August.
He told of the devastating impact this was having on his business and how he had young drivers waiting since January for a commercial driving test to try and get a job.
Mr Hyland said his organisation had written to transport ministers Darragh O'Brien and Sean Canney on the issue, giving them a two-week deadline to come back with sustainable proposals to improve driving test wait times in their sector.
'These are the drivers we need to bring tourists around, deliver goods and keep our economy running,' he added.
In a statement, the RSA said it was 'fully committed' to delivering fair and timely access to driving tests for all categories.
It said 'record levels' of truck and bus tests were delivered in May in preparation of the release of 'our experienced staff from the service to support the training of our new recruits'.
'This resulted in a reduction of testing staff to support the higher licence categories during the training period in June and July,' the RSA said.
'This short-term adjustment is already delivering improvements in overall capacity. Once the new testers are fully deployed from early September, waiting times for all licence categories — including commercial — will stabilise and meet service-level agreements.'
It added the 2,738 people awaiting a truck or driving test at the end of June would be issued an invitation in the coming weeks.
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Irish Times
26 minutes ago
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What do Ireland's best paid chief executives earn?
In terms of pay, 2024 was a bumper year for the 21 long-standing bosses of the largest Irish publicly quoted companies, driven by big bonuses paid by companies that exited the Dublin stock market and moved their primary listings to New York . Figures compiled by The Irish Times show that their average pay package rose by 31 per cent to €4.36 million last year. Peter Jackson , chief executive of New York-listed gambling giant Flutter Entertainment , led the way with a package worth the equivalent of €18.9 million. He is followed by Tony Smurfit , the head of packaging giant Smurfit Westrock , with remuneration of €12.7 million, and Albert Manifold , the former chief executive of building materials group CRH , with earnings of €11.6 million. Both of those companies are now listed in New York and have quit the Dublin stock market. All of the 21 top earners in our analysis for 2024 were men. 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His remuneration declined by 34 per cent to the equivalent of €4.83 million in a year in which the group's stock lost more than a quarter of its value as the wider sector was hit by drugmakers dramatically cutting their research and development (R&D) budgets amid high interest rates. Eamonn Rothwell , head of Irish Ferries owner Irish Continental Group (ICG) and a 19 per cent shareholder in the business, saw his total remuneration jump 42 per cent to €4.47 million. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), which advises large investors on annual general meeting (AGM) votes, urged investors to reject the ICG's remuneration plan at the group's latest meeting in May. The recommendation was in line with its stance on a number of previous occasions and centres on the same argument: a lack of clarity from ICG over the targets on which the chief executive's bonus is based. Almost 15 per cent of shareholders voted against the remuneration policy at the meeting. 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Irish Times
26 minutes ago
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EY Entrepreneur of the Year profiles: From aviation finance software to changing private dermatology
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Aerlytix is an aviation finance tech company helping aircraft owners, investors, lenders and lessors make smarter decisions through fast, accurate cash-flow modelling and analytics. READ MORE What makes us different is our deep focus on blending technology, aviation finance with the metal (ie aircraft). Being based in Ireland, the heart of global aircraft leasing, provides us with the perfect home for our products. What was your 'back-to-the-wall' moment and how did you overcome it? Getting clients before the software was built was the key moment for our existence. Agreeing long-term contracts with two amazing Irish aviation lessors during Covid was a huge win but my stress levels were through the roof at the time. What moment/deal would you cite as the 'game changer' or turning point for the company? I wouldn't say there was one game-changing deal. 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I have been very lucky in that I have a great US investor who has been very supportive since our inception. Unfortunately, Ireland does not yet have the ecosystem when it comes to VC/PE investing, so I had to look outside. It is changing but there is still a long way to go when compared to the US investment space. How will your market look in three years and where would you like your business to be? Technology evolves very fast. If you are not investing in it constantly then you will be left behind. AI, combined with our modelling and team, has huge possibilities. I think my capital-intensive industry will come to rely on innovative technology and strong risk management practices common in other investment classes. Aerlytix will be at the forefront of that evolution. What are your annual revenues and profits? All I can say is we have invested more than €10 million to get to the profitability space. 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What impact have Donald Trump's tariffs had on your business? Minimal impact to date, but protectionism reinforces the importance of EU and UK supply chains. We view the US as a key market, particularly for supplements, but remain vigilant about trade barriers when scaling.
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26 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Meals on Wheels providers struggling to meet demand with fewer volunteers
The country's Meals on Wheels services are reporting that some of its 300 providers are struggling to meet growing demand with fewer volunteers. The network received €6.25 million in funding in last year's budget, but said food inflation has exacerbated the pressures they are under. Just outside Emyvale, Co Monaghan, the kitchen at the Truagh Spirit Meals on Wheels service is at full tilt. Over 100 dinners are being prepared. The increase in the cost of food is being keenly monitored and felt here. "It's constantly rising, it's been rising the last two years," said chef Kevin Crossan. "Just for instance, today, we have mince on. This time last year, a portion of mince was €1 cheaper compared to what it is now, never mind the veg. The mince is gone up by €1 - and I'm doing over 50 portions, that's €50 for the cost alone just for today," he said. There are other examples, too. A kilo of diced beef was €10 last March, now it's €11.89, he said. A kilo of turkey has gone from €7.80 to €9.10. Five kilograms of prepared vegetables have increased by €2.50. All of those increases add up when cooking for large numbers, he said. It is now impacting on the menu. "I've to cut down on the roast beef, because it's gone up 2.50 per kilo. When you're buying more than 15 kilos, that's another €50 on cost. I'm trying to use the cheaper cuts now, trying to get more out of it," he said. "Our clientele are slightly older, they like what they like. It's harder to come up with new ideas for a substantial dinner for them. I know that they like the roast beef, and they like their turkeys. We have to accommodate them where we possibly can, but we're bringing in some cheaper cuts as well," he said. Fiona McCaffrey Jones is the manager. "It's very tough at the moment. And what we really want to do is just highlight the fact that soaring food costs are having such a negative impact," she said. In March 2024, the service put their own prices up - from €7 per meal, to the current rate of €8. She said that compared to last year, their food bill has soared. "It's the huge price increases. Compared to the same period in 2024, the average is 26.7% and that's just an enormous increase." "You don't want to cut the quality of the ingredients we're using to produce these nutritious Meals on Wheels, because that's what people a very traditional kind of Irish food. It's fresh vegetables, fresh potatoes, and locally sourced meat and fish as well for Fridays." As well as the cost of food prices, there are other cost pressures too, namely VAT at 13.5%. "The company made the decision to actually absorb that (the VAT) and not pass it on to our vulnerable service users. So, with all of these pressures, we just feel we're getting squeezed from both sides - the VAT issue and then the soaring cost of food," she said. She is now calling on the Government to review the issue of VAT for services like hers and also to bring clarity to the issue, as she said the operation is now at a pinch point. "We've managed not to cut back, but we're just going to have a look at our service going forward," she said. The area they cover is sizable. It measures over 400 square kilometres of north Monaghan. Many of its users are described as elderly and vulnerable. Kitty McKenna is a regular customer and has much praise for the meals she receives, describing them as "tasty dinners I would have made when I was fitter". She also said they are "great value", but she would not like to see the price go up. "I wouldn't like it increased, I think it's fine as it is," she said, adding that she has also noticed the increase in food prices in the shops. "It costs nearly as much to keep myself as it would when I had three or four children … I find now the shopping I get for one person is nearly as dear now as it was when I did the shopping for everyone," she said. It is a similar story nearby with Rose Hughes. Any notion of an increase in the price of her Meals on Wheels service is not welcomed. "I have my dinner every day, then pay for it at the weekend," she said. What if the operators decide they need to up their price? "I hope they don't," she said. The Meals on Wheels keep on turning, but the service is feeling the squeeze.
