Criticism of ban on walk-ins at Mayo NDLS centres is rejected

The Minister of State at the Department of Transport has explained why the walk-in service has been discontinued at the National Driving Licence Service centres in Castlebar and Erris.

Following a wave of criticism in Mayo over the decision, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton explained market analysis undertaken by the Road Safety Authority in advance of the procurement of the current service contract showed that more bids and better value for money would be attainable if the service was delivered on the basis of appointments only.

She stated: "An appointment-only service manages queues, gives certainty to customers and prevents overcrowding, queueing and long waits.

"It also allows the service provider to manage the resourcing of the service because demand is predictable rather than having peaks and troughs during different times of the day.

"The decision to move to appointments only was assisted by the availability of an online licence renewal and application service (which accounts for 40% of total applications) and the option for older customers to apply by post.

"Previously, people with an appointment had preference and attendance without an appointment was facilitated if time permitted."

Appointments to attend at a NDLS office can be made by telephone on 0818 919 090 as well as online.