The cost of driving licences and NCTs could be increased to help pay for road safety.  

The Irish Times reports that an external review has recommended a complete overhaul of the Road Safety Authority and transferring some key functions back to the Department of Transport.

The audit has also highlighted that the RSA is running a deficit.

On The Pat Kenny Show, Motoring Editor of The Irish Independent, Geraldine Herbert, said this report hopes to help the body cut costs.

"It seems to be that the public safety remit, that road safety remit, would go back to the Department of Transport and the RSA would run the driving license and the car testing fees," Ms Herbert said.

"As it stands at the moment, these two activities are outsourced, so, I suppose, the question has to be asked - is the current funding model for those adequate?

"Because, I mean, one of the other things that the report says is that if there is going to be increases, there has to be this has to be conditional on substantially meeting service level agreements."

Target agreements

Ms Herbert said it must be acknowledged that service level target agreements for both the NCT and the driving test have "slipped considerably" in the last while.

"So, you have to ask the question - is an increase necessary in order to get these service level agreement targets back in place? Because it's not happening at the moment, there are long waiting times for the NCT," she said.

"I had a look at the driving test this morning and picked three random locations where the ideal time is a 10 week waiting list.

"The three that I looked at are nowhere near that.

"So something needs to be done there."

Ms Herbert said she's not sure that an overhaul of the RSA will make a "huge difference" in terms of road safety.

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Chief executive of the Road Safety Authority Moyagh Murdock holds sample UK and Irish Driving licenses. 23/09/2019 Image: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo