Road Safety Authority continues to refuse access to shelter and hygiene

November 1st: Nineteen months on from the start of the pandemic, the Road Safety Authority is still refusing driving instructors access to test centres in order to wash their hands or shelter from the rain. 

Unite’s Approved Driving Instructor Branch will be holding a protest outside the RSA test centre on Jamestown Road in Finglas next Thursday (November 4^th) at 9 am.

Commenting ahead of the protest, Unite Regional Officer Jean O’Dowd said:

“Since the start of the pandemic restrictions have come and gone but our members – and the general public – remain locked out of test centre facilities.  With another winter approaching, driving instructors are expected to wait out in the rain and the cold, unable to take shelter, use toilet facilities or even wash their hands.

“Driving instructors are key workers who are playing a crucial role in clearing the driving test backlog and ensuring the safety of the travelling public.  Yet both the Road Safety Authority and the Department of Transport have refused to engage with driving instructors, who are now the only group of workers in the country being denied basic shelter and sanitary facilities under the pretext of restrictions which have long since been relaxed for everyone else.

“This is a health and safety issue affecting not only driving instructors but also members of the public including young children, the elderly and people with health issues.

“On Thursday November 4^th, our members will be outside the Finglas test centre at 9 am with a clear message – let us in”, Jean O’Dowd said.