Mayo TD declares solutions for driving licence cancellation scandal

Paul Lawless TD has today called for urgent and targeted reform of Ireland’s driving test system, following the revelation that nearly 2,500 driving test appointments were missed in the first five months of 2025 alone, many without cancellation, and many without consequence.

“This troubling trend is not a mere administrative oversight. It is a systemic flaw that is actively undermining the integrity of the licensing process”, the Aontú deputy noted.

“Learners who are ready and willing to take their test are being forced to wait up to fifteen weeks and counting, while others exploit a loophole that allows them to renew their provisional licence simply by booking a test they never intend to sit.” Lawless said.

Under current regulations, a learner driver may renew their provisional licence by providing proof of a driving test booking. Crucially, they are not required to attend the test, nor even cancel it. This has led to a surge in phantom bookings, where individuals secure a slot solely to maintain legal provisional driving status, with no intention of progressing to a full licence.

The result is a backlog that leaves examiners idle, slots wasted, and genuine candidates stranded in limbo. “This isn’t just mere inefficiency, it’s institutional indifference to those trying to do things right.”

Lawless declared: “And too often, when government responds to such problems, it does so with a broad brush, penalising the innocent alongside the guilty.”

Deputy Lawless is calling for smart, surgical reform, not blanket punishment. He proposes limiting provisional licence renewals to two unless a genuine test attempt has been made.

He advocates for a system that rewards responsible cancellations with partial refunds or priority rebooking, and calls for real-time alerts to notify wait-listed candidates when slots become available.

Furthermore, he urges the introduction of escalating fees and temporary booking suspensions for habitual no-shows, and the deployment of predictive scheduling tools to reallocate likely wasted slots to active candidates.

“This is about restoring fairness and efficiency,” Lawless said.

“We must ensure the system serves those who are genuinely working toward a full licence, not those who treat the provisional as a permanent convenience.”

And in closing, Deputy Lawless offered a reminder:

“We don’t need to punish everyone to fix this, we need to be precise. Let’s close the loopholes that jam the gears, and build a system that moves swiftly for those ready to drive forward.

Because a driving test should be a gateway to progress, not a revolving door for procrastination.”