Sinn Féin spokesperson for Transport, John Brady TD, has warned the government against increasing driving licence and car testing fees.

He said such punitive measures would further punish ordinary drivers and must immediately be taken off the table.

He said the government was wrong to hike carbon taxes on petrol and diesel, and added that it would be completely unacceptable for the government to heap even more pressure on workers and families.

Teachta Brady said:

“Any government decision to increase driving licence and car testing fees would be a further unfair and unacceptable punishment of ordinary drivers.

“The government was wrong to hike carbon taxes on petrol and diesel, and any further punishment of drivers must immediately be taken off the table.

“Motorists are being hit with price increases at every turn – in tolls, hikes in petrol and diesel costs, and rising insurance premiums. All of this on the back of the ongoing cost of living crisis affecting households right across the state.

“All of these punitive measures punish commuters who need to drive to get to work or to bring their children to school, particularly where people have to commute long distances and for those in rural areas where alternative forms of transport are lacking or simply do not exist.

“The increase in the number of road fatalities clearly points to the fact that current attempts to enforce road safety are not working, and it is clear that urgent action is needed to enforce road safety and keep communities safe.

“The Road Safety Association requires both adequate funding and oversight. Today’s external report on the RSA has outlined severe funding concerns for the organisation, but it is not up to ordinary drivers to plug that funding gap.

“There was a €24bn budget surplus this year, and the government needs to get real and prioritise their spending commitments so that ordinary people are not constantly being punished.

“Sinn Féin’s approach has been, and continues to be, that road safety measures should be funded directly through exchequer funding.

“I therefore call on the Minister for Transport to clarify that the idea of increasing driving licence and car testing fees will be immediately taken off the table.”