Aontú’s Clare representative has called for urgent and targeted reform of Ireland’s driving test system.
June Dillon’s call comes after it emerged 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. 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,” Ms Dillon 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,” Dillon declared. “And too often, when government responds to such problems, it does so with a broad brush—penalising the innocent alongside the guilty.”
June Dillon is calling for smart, surgical reform—not blanket punishment. She proposes limiting provisional licence renewals to two unless a genuine test attempt has been made. She advocates for a system that rewards responsible cancellations with partial refunds or priority rebooking, and calls for real-time alerts to notify waitlisted candidates when slots become available.
Furthermore, she 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,” Dillon 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. Living in rural Ireland, we need a prompt driving test service to facilitate those needing to travel for reasons such as work, attending college or just buying the weeks shopping.
I know of one lady who took up driving at a mature age because her husband could no longer drive for medical reasons. Public transport isn’t a viable option in rural Ireland, when you need to attend medical appointments, go to the post office or carry a week’s groceries from the shop to home.”
Ms Dillon concluded: “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.”