Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae has called for the introduction of driver education in secondary schools so that every student leaving school would have a driving licence and the Leaving Cert.
Mr Healy-Rae told Newstalk radio that the problem of the growing backlog of people awaiting driving tests needed to be tackled.
“Over the last year this number of people waiting has increased by 61 per cent, reaching a total of 71,554, up from 44,500, which was unacceptable last October, waiting for a driving test.”
The Government has to do something to recognise the issue, he said. “Myself and my colleagues in the Rural Independent Group are raising this this morning in the Dáil. We believe that the Government have to do something to recognise this.
“In fairness to the Taoiseach, I spoke about this in the Dáil yesterday and he did agree. I've had a vision in my head for a lot of time now, and I've been speaking about it in the Dáil, that when students are going to secondary school, they should actually leave secondary school with their Leaving Certificate in one hand and with a full driver's licence in the other.”
Education around driving should be spread across the curriculum, he said, tackling theory in the Junior Cycle and learning the rule of the road. Then in Transition Year and Leaving Cert students could learn how to check for oil, tyre pressure and learn about a motorcar, with a car for such purposes in each school.
“People in the Green Party mightn't like this, but one thing that the majority of young people will need to do and will have to do is drive a motorcar. Particularly if they're not from the centre of Dublin or Cork or Limerick, where there's all different types of transport.
“If you're living in a rural area, the practicalities are you will have to drive a car.”
By Vivienne Clarke
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