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Transport Omnibus 2015

Driver and Vehicle Testing

Driver and vehicle testing

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A total of 2,764,069 Irish driving licences were held at the end of 2015, of which almost one in ten (8.7%) were learner permit licences.
Just under 122,000 (121,918) driving tests were conducted in 2015 with an average pass rate of 53.9%.
Compared with 2014, the number of driving tests conducted in 2015 increased by 14.0%, the number on the waiting list at the end of the year increased by 5.4% and the average waiting time for a test increased to 9.6 weeks.
Almost 1.5 million (1,492,180) cars underwent the National Car Test (NCT) in 2015. Over half (51.9%) failed the initial test, but 94.8% of cars passed after one or more tests.

X-axis label	Number of applications received	Driving tests conducted
2010	154.166	116.825
2011	147.108	127.946
2012	141.309	104.302
2013	139.381	105.259
2014	152.078	106.989
2015	164.204	121.918

Driver and vehicle testing

Table 2.1 Number of current driving licences by type in each licensing authority at 31/12/2015
					Number
Licensing authority	Learner permit licences	Annual licences	Triennial licences	10 year licences	Total number of driving licences
Carlow	3,530	184	3,128	30,432	37,274
Cavan	4,154	150	4,148	37,078	45,530
Clare	5,651	315	7,378	63,714	77,058
Cork	26,900	1,166	30,694	267,488	326,248
Donegal	6,946	445	9,466	81,356	98,213
Dublin	68,976	2,762	62,357	551,615	685,710
Galway	11,561	479	13,876	130,384	156,300
Kerry	7,119	309	9,740	77,344	94,512
Kildare	12,063	324	8,883	107,641	128,911
Kilkenny	5,323	336	5,490	47,571	58,720
Laois	4,396	263	3,712	37,138	45,509
Leitrim	1,541	127	2,171	17,193	21,032
Limerick	9,164	534	10,978	96,471	117,147
Longford	2,127	80	2,383	19,477	24,067
Louth	6,323	261	6,167	57,859	70,610
Mayo	6,310	352	8,598	69,209	84,469
Meath	9,597	303	8,810	95,415	114,125
Monaghan	2,812	156	3,491	33,046	39,505
Offaly	4,199	253	4,013	38,479	46,944
Roscommon	2,959	169	4,525	34,062	41,715
Sligo	2,738	225	4,305	34,581	41,849
Tipperary	9,066	514	10,489	82,412	102,481
Waterford	5,974	221	7,050	57,851	71,096
Westmeath	4,763	212	4,669	44,113	53,757
Wexford	8,375	714	9,187	75,573	93,849
Wicklow	7,875	375	7,947	71,241	87,438

Total	240,442	11,229	253,655	2,258,743	2,764,069

Source: Road Safety Authority

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 2.1 (XLS 13KB)

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Table 2.2 Number of current driving licences by type and gender in each licensing authority at 31/12/2015
						Number
Licensing authority	Full licences			Learner permit licences
Licensing authority	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total

Carlow	18,230	15,514	33,744	1,811	1,719	3,530
Cavan	22,841	18,535	41,376	2,096	2,058	4,154
Clare	36,973	34,434	71,407	2,891	2,760	5,651
Cork	160,065	139,283	299,348	13,856	13,044	26,900
Donegal	49,526	41,741	91,267	3,682	3,264	6,946
Dublin	330,506	286,228	616,734	32,961	36,015	68,976
Galway	76,056	68,683	144,739	5,873	5,688	11,561
Kerry	47,277	40,116	87,393	3,615	3,504	7,119
Kildare	61,911	54,937	116,848	5,841	6,222	12,063
Kilkenny	27,863	25,534	53,397	2,709	2,614	5,323
Laois	22,132	18,981	41,113	2,155	2,241	4,396
Leitrim	10,639	8,852	19,491	790	751	1,541
Limerick	57,650	50,333	107,983	4,680	4,484	9,164
Longford	12,205	9,735	21,940	1,065	1,062	2,127
Louth	34,736	29,551	64,287	2,961	3,362	6,323
Mayo	42,120	36,039	78,159	3,306	3,004	6,310
Meath	54,911	49,617	104,528	4,623	4,974	9,597
Monaghan	20,784	15,909	36,693	1,503	1,309	2,812
Offaly	23,435	19,310	42,745	2,143	2,056	4,199
Roscommon	21,107	17,649	38,756	1,518	1,441	2,959
Sligo	19,629	19,482	39,111	1,466	1,272	2,738
Tipperary	50,184	43,231	93,415	4,606	4,460	9,066
Waterford	34,769	30,353	65,122	3,031	2,943	5,974
Westmeath	26,393	22,601	48,994	2,320	2,443	4,763
Wexford	44,279	41,195	85,474	4,280	4,095	8,375
Wicklow	41,770	37,793	79,563	3,893	3,982	7,875

Total	1,337,991	1,175,636	2,523,627	119,675	120,767	240,442

Source: Road Safety Authority

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 2.2 (XLS 13KB)

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Table 2.3 Number of current full driving licences by age in each licensing authority at 31/12/2015
											Number
	Age (years)
Licensing authority	Under 17	17 - 20	21 - 24	25 - 29	30 - 39	40 - 49	50 - 59	60 - 69	70 - 79	80 and over	Total


Carlow	-	425	1,467	2,804	7,985	7,514	6,031	4,401	2,391	726	33,744
Cavan	-	755	2,033	3,666	9,352	8,594	7,331	5,635	2,990	1,020	41,376
Clare	-	1,327	3,397	5,667	14,876	15,527	13,191	10,313	5,487	1,622	71,407
Cork	-	4,869	13,151	23,961	66,694	65,348	54,351	41,200	22,669	7,105	299,348
Donegal	-	1,517	4,366	8,516	19,916	18,878	15,903	12,890	7,214	2,067	91,267
Dublin	-	4,741	18,689	44,621	150,318	141,480	112,922	83,338	45,288	15,337	616,734
Galway	-	2,081	6,228	12,216	34,325	32,113	25,317	19,182	10,301	2,976	144,739
Kerry	-	1,385	3,828	7,120	18,525	17,804	16,099	13,187	7,287	2,158	87,393
Kildare	-	1,420	4,340	8,728	27,767	29,413	21,560	15,231	6,730	1,659	116,848
Kilkenny	-	914	2,396	4,445	11,324	11,388	9,932	7,528	4,159	1,311	53,397
Laois	-	567	1,653	3,430	9,894	9,260	7,374	5,245	2,796	894	41,113
Leitrim	-	362	930	1,642	4,166	3,825	3,529	2,900	1,621	516	19,491
Limerick	-	1,859	4,709	8,959	24,733	22,579	18,952	15,396	8,346	2,450	107,983
Longford	-	309	990	1,902	5,047	4,454	3,657	3,269	1,752	560	21,940
Louth	-	685	2,333	5,053	14,664	15,229	11,785	8,561	4,634	1,343	64,287
Mayo	-	1482	3,956	7,248	16,641	14,762	13,945	11,760	6,412	1,953	78,159
Meath	-	1,381	4,150	7,837	24,151	26,404	19,001	13,234	6,565	1,805	104,528
Monaghan	-	736	2,003	3,477	8,281	7,137	6,458	5,165	2,616	820	36,693
Offaly	-	689	1,867	3,699	9,774	9,329	7,746	5,626	3,005	1,010	42,745
Roscommon	-	740	1,868	3,336	8,091	7,537	6,922	5,839	3,294	1,129	38,756
Sligo	-	651	1,844	3,257	8,306	7,604	7,222	5,984	3,234	1,009	39,111
Tipperary	-	1,504	4,184	7,737	19,796	19,270	17,041	13,578	7,680	2,625	93,415
Waterford	-	1,083	2,728	5,241	14,445	14,110	11,845	8,863	5,228	1,579	65,122
Westmeath	-	702	2,056	4,003	11,285	10,924	9,008	6,457	3,479	1,080	48,994
Wexford	-	1,375	3,776	6,832	18,095	18,552	15,718	11,845	7,211	2,070	85,474
Wicklow	-	994	3,024	5,726	17,037	18,635	15,320	11,104	6,066	1,657	79,563

Total	0	34,553	101,966	201,123	575,488	557,670	458,160	347,731	188,455	58,481	2,523,627

Source: Road Safety Authority

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 2.3 (XLS 14KB)

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Table 2.4 Number of current learner permit licences by age in each licensing authority at 31/12/2015
											Number
	Age (years)
Licensing authority	Under 17	17 - 20	21 - 24	25 - 29	30 - 39	40 - 49	50 - 59	60 - 69	70 - 79	80 and over	Total

Carlow	19	750	675	600	854	374	157	72	19	10	3,530
Cavan	65	1,199	785	587	810	378	193	101	26	10	4,154
Clare	45	1,681	1,096	845	1,089	520	224	101	39	11	5,651
Cork	154	7,449	4,909	4,159	6,028	2,617	1,028	431	105	20	26,900
Donegal	91	2,161	1,505	1,012	1,226	517	256	114	57	7	6,946
Dublin	17	10,480	12,470	13,280	20,766	7,845	2,686	1,122	273	37	68,976
Galway	90	2,824	2,257	1,866	2,643	1,119	454	233	63	12	11,561
Kerry	71	2,166	1,428	992	1,301	631	311	150	58	11	7,119
Kildare	21	2,740	2,328	1,947	2,857	1,406	500	205	49	10	12,063
Kilkenny	44	1,416	1,060	778	1,058	529	266	130	34	8	5,323
Laois	31	1,002	839	699	1,063	474	167	86	33	2	4,396
Leitrim	26	452	280	221	293	149	64	44	10	2	1,541
Limerick	61	2,487	1,724	1,428	1,982	874	367	180	56	5	9,164
Longford	26	507	404	321	465	229	98	55	16	6	2,127
Louth	17	1,307	1,230	1,073	1,426	804	319	107	37	3	6,323
Mayo	61	2,043	1,253	921	1,113	491	251	129	42	6	6,310
Meath	40	2,533	1,955	1,455	2,007	994	384	168	52	9	9,597
Monaghan	38	986	508	406	499	206	104	44	17	4	2,812
Offaly	46	1,171	846	666	791	391	178	79	29	2	4,199
Roscommon	42	825	570	447	566	272	137	74	17	9	2,959
Sligo	44	801	528	419	511	250	112	54	17	2	2,738
Tipperary	74	2,597	1,768	1,301	1,783	868	388	214	61	12	9,066
Waterford	43	1,400	1,108	943	1,354	651	289	136	40	10	5,974
Westmeath	28	1,145	1,002	757	1,039	458	203	98	30	3	4,763
Wexford	73	2,316	1,634	1,301	1,592	764	406	200	74	15	8,375
Wicklow	21	1,902	1,586	1,276	1,739	798	357	151	39	6	7,875

Total	1,288	56,340	45,748	39,700	56,855	24,609	9,899	4,478	1,293	232	240,442

Source: Road Safety Authority

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 2.4 (XLS 14KB)

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Table 2.5 Number of current driving licences by age and gender at 31/12/2015
						Number
	Full licence			Learner permit licence
Age	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total

Under 17	0	0	0	1,220	68	1,288
17 - 20	21,983	12,570	34,553	30,277	26,063	56,340
21 - 24	55,632	46,334	101,966	21,775	23,973	45,748
25 - 29	104,320	96,803	201,123	19,436	20,264	39,700
30 - 39	292,972	282,516	575,488	27,782	29,073	56,855
40 - 49	291,366	266,304	557,670	12,634	11,975	24,609
50 - 59	243,285	214,875	458,160	4,613	5,286	9,899
60 - 69	194,070	153,661	347,731	1,577	2,901	4,478
70 - 79	108,840	79,615	188,455	294	999	1,293
80 and over	35,523	22,958	58,481	67	165	232

Total	1,347,991	1,175,636	2,523,627	119,675	120,767	240,442

Source: Road Safety Authority

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 2.5 (XLS 12KB)

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Table 2.6 Driving test statistics, 2010 - 2015
					Number and rate
	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Number of applications received	154,166	147,108	141,309	139,381	152,078	164,204
Driving tests conducted	116,825	127,946	104,302	105,259	106,989	121,918
Applicant did not attend for appointment	15,288	20,110	18,632	19,621	21,118	22,179
Number on waiting list at end of year	46,419	26,903	40,879	29,252	36,382	38,351
Average waiting time for test at end of year	9.5 wks	7.9 wks	9.3 wks	8.3 wks	9.3 wks	9.6 wks
Average pass rate	50.8%	51.3%	52.5%	51.8%	53.4%	53.9%
Number of testers employed at end of year¹	117.0	113.7	104.7	103.7	97.2	92.2

¹ Data has been revised for the years 2010 to 2014
Source: Road Safety Authority

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Table 2.7 Driving test pass rate by gender, 2010 - 2015
					Number and rate
Gender	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015

Male	65,725	69,548	56,765	56,491	58,607	67,540
Pass	34,993	37,553	31,672	30,958	33,225	38,570
Fail	30,732	31,995	25,093	25,533	25,382	28,970

% pass	53.2	54.0	55.8	54.8	56.7	57.1
Female	51,100	58,398	47,537	48,768	48,382	54,378
Pass	24,435	28,143	23,111	23,587	23,857	27,207
Fail	26,665	30,255	24,426	25,181	24,525	27,171

% pass	47.8	48.2	48.6	48.4	49.3	50.0

Total	116,825	127,946	104,302	105,259	106,989	121,918

Source: Road Safety Authority

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 2.7 (XLS 9KB)

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Table 2.8 Driving test pass rate by age group, 2010 - 2015
					Number and rate
Age category	2010¹	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
16 - 21 years
Pass	20,841	23,553	19,039	19,658	19,460	22,555
Fail	16,522	17,960	13,715	14,578	13,665	16,247
Total	37,363	41,513	32,754	34,236	33,125	38,802
% pass	55.8	56.7	58.1	57.4	58.7	58.1

22 - 25 years
Pass	11,319	12,601	10,421	10,807	11,679	13,059
Fail	10,009	10,402	8,347	8,925	8,887	9,940
Total	21,327	23,003	18,768	19,732	20,566	22,999
% pass	53.1	54.8	55.5	54.8	56.8	56.8

26 or over
Pass	27,268	29,542	25,323	24,080	25,943	30,163
Fail	30,867	33,888	27,457	27,211	27,355	29,954
Total	58,135	63,430	52,780	51,291	53,298	60,117
% pass	46.9	46.6	48.0	46.9	48.7	50.2

¹ Revised
Source: Road Safety Authority

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 2.8 (XLS 9KB)

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Table 2.9 Number of tests conducted by the driver theory testing service, 2010 - 2015
					Number and rate
	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
No of tests conducted	130,159	110,185	80,465	83,620	93,700	121,554
% Pass Rate	69.1	70.6	77.2	77.0	75.9	75.2

Source: Road Safety Authority

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 2.9 (XLS 9KB)

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Table 2.10 Waiting time for driving tests by centre, 2011 - 2015
				Number of weeks
	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015

North Leinster
Dundalk	9	8	7	8	9
Finglas	8	9	7	8	8
Mullingar	8	8	7	9	9
Navan	10	8	7	8	9
Raheny	8	9	7	9	8
South Leinster
Gorey	10	10	9	10	11
Naas	6	10	7	8	8
Rathgar	8	10	7	8	9
Tallaght	6	10	7	8	9
Tullamore	10	11	7	10	10
Wicklow	6	9	8	8	11
West
Athlone	8	9	9	11	10
Birr	9	10	9	11	11
Castlebar	8	9	9	10	11
Clifden	6	8	8	11	10
Ennis	10	9	8	9	11
Galway	8	9	8	9	8
Loughrea	7	11	9	9	11
Roscommon	7	9	8	9	11
Tuam	9	11	10	11	11
North West
Ballina	7	10	8	8	10
Buncrana	9	10	10	9	11
Carrick-on-Shannon	8	9	8	9	11
Cavan	8	9	7	8	11
Donegal	10	11	11	10	11
Letterkenny	8	10	7	8	9
Longford	7	9	11	9	11
Monaghan	9	10	9	10	11
Sligo	7	8	9	8	11
South East
Carlow	8	9	9	10	11
Clonmel	7	8	10	10	11
Dungarvan	7	8	9	10	11
Kilkenny	8	9	9	11	11
Nenagh	10	11	11	11	11
Portlaoise	9	9	10	11	11
Thurles	6	9	11	8	11
Tipperary	8	9	9	11	11
Waterford	7	9	8	10	9
Wexford	7	9	8	11	11
South West
Cork	8	9	8	10	11
Killarney	6	9	7	9	10
Kilrush	7	9	7	11	10
Limerick	8	9	8	8	9
Mallow	8	8	6	8	11
Newcastlewest	7	9	9	9	11
Shannon	7	8	7	9	9
Skibbereen	6	10	9	9	8
Tralee	8	9	7	8	10

Source: Road Safety Authority

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 2.10 (XLS 13KB)

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Table 2.11 National car test results by test centre for year ending 31/12/2015

Test centre	Pass	Fail	Pass	Fail	Total	Total
Test centre	(initial test)	(initial test)	(re-test)	(re-test)	passes	tests

Abbeyfeale	8,523	7,901	7,231	811	15,754	16,424
Arklow	14,380	14,979	12,711	1,373	27,091	29,359
Athlone	8,859	9,306	8,701	807	17,560	18,165
Ballina	8,487	9,513	8,623	677	17,110	18,000
Ballinasloe	7,227	6,872	6,380	551	13,607	14,099
Cahir	15,643	15,880	14,277	1,294	29,920	31,523
Cahirciveen	1,910	1,873	1,692	86	3,602	3,783
Carlow	13,504	16,602	14,516	1,596	28,020	30,106
Carndonagh	3,652	3,939	3,679	389	7,331	7,591
Carrick-on-Shannon	5,961	7,093	6,413	590	12,374	13,054
Castlerea	6,935	8,342	7,507	747	14,442	15,277
Cavan	6,973	9,322	8,797	1,054	15,770	16,295
Charleville	8,520	9,402	8,490	820	17,010	17,922
Clifden	1,703	3,006	2,715	320	4,418	4,709
Cork-Blarney	21,741	24,974	21,308	2,238	43,049	46,715
Cork-Little Island	39,590	36,535	34,523	3,224	74,113	76,125
Deansgrange	53,871	45,960	43,490	4,154	97,361	99,831
Derrybeg	2,570	3,433	3,230	282	5,800	6,003
Donegal	5,847	5,803	5,313	619	11,160	11,650
Drogheda	18,830	18,179	15,974	1,675	34,804	37,009
Dundalk	10,664	12,898	11,439	1,367	22,103	23,562
Ennis	15,182	17,800	16,174	1,749	31,356	32,982
Enniscorthy	17,123	19,495	17,893	1,757	35,016	36,618
Fonthill	41,685	52,050	43,674	5,080	85,359	93,735
Galway	27,363	33,618	30,453	3,104	57,816	60,981
Greenhills	35,404	38,927	36,220	3,981	71,624	74,331
Kells	15,589	18,407	15,734	1,744	31,323	33,996
Kilkenny	15,931	12,891	12,164	819	28,095	28,822
Killarney	11,149	8,745	8,314	582	19,463	19,894
Letterkenny	10,213	13,058	11,803	1,261	22,016	23,271
Limerick	25,031	27,227	25,923	2,953	50,954	52,258
Longford	6,270	8,827	7,740	1,003	14,010	15,097
Macroom	9,022	8,022	7,320	596	16,342	17,044
Monaghan	5,441	9,228	8,223	1,012	13,664	14,669
Mullingar	9,344	11,578	10,277	1,020	19,621	20,922
Naas	23,216	27,633	23,083	2,351	46,299	50,849
Nenagh	12,868	14,206	12,599	1,175	25,467	27,074
Northpoint 1	31,231	36,864	33,884	4,189	65,115	68,095
Northpoint 2	43,274	49,575	43,691	4,654	86,965	92,849
Portlaoise	14,341	11,733	10,446	821	24,787	26,074
Skibbereen	7,959	8,913	8,226	606	16,185	16,872
Sligo	9,498	11,427	10,426	893	19,924	20,925
Tralee	13,705	10,672	9,765	835	23,470	24,377
Tullamore	11,839	10,890	9,830	852	21,669	22,729
Waterford	21,027	20,150	17,622	1,824	38,649	41,177
Westport	11,029	11,566	10,594	835	21,623	22,595
Youghal	8,056	8,686	7,553	666	15,609	16,742

Total	718,180	774,000	696,640	71,036	1,414,820	1,492,180

Source: Road Safety Authority

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 2.11 (XLS 14KB)

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