Those awaiting driving tests have expressed frustration with delays as the latest figures from the Road Safety Authority show that waiting times increased again last month.
The data for February shows that there were 74,674 people on the list waiting for a date - an increase of just over 2,000 when compared to January.
The figures also show the estimated national average waiting time has also crept up - from 22 weeks in January to 23 weeks last month.
According to an RSA target, no one should be waiting more than ten weeks for their test.
However, none of the State's 61 test centres is currently meeting that goal.
One of those affected is Matthew Duff, who has been in the system for a total of ten months now.
Last November, he applied for a retest and still has not heard back with a confirmed date.
He said the delay is having a real impact on his daily life, with his commutes longer as he can only drive if he has a fully licensed driver in the car with him.
"I'm extremely frustrated over it. I live in Ratoath. I go to college in Coolock, and I also work in town. Public transport wise, it just doesn't cut it."
"I'm normally late to college because it takes about two hours to get there (compared to 40 minutes in the car)," Matthew added.
Matthew’s freelance work too is also affected.
"Not having a license prevents me from actually getting more work in other counties," he said.
In separate statements, the RSA and the Department of Transport said that additional testers have been recruited with the aim of alleviating the delay.
The first batch have begun training and the total number of testers is set to rise to 200.
The Minister for Transport is due to meet the RSA shortly and it is expected the plan to restore the ten week waiting time will be central to those discussions, along with measures to accelerate that process.
Brendan Walsh, chief operations officer at the RSA, said: "This is an important first step in bringing down driving test waiting times and I am confident that we will see a significant improvement over the coming months."
However, Sinn Féin TD Mark Ward said it was a scandal that 74,000 people were currently waiting on dates for their tests.
Mr Ward said an audit should be carried out to assess whether more test centres are needed and that more permanent staff were needed.
"I’d love to see more local testing centres," Matthew said.
"I live in Ratoath, but the closest one for me is in Navan. I’d like to see more testers, more slots. I think there's a lot more they can do to accommodate learners."
The latest statistics for February also show that there were 17,045 with a scheduled test date last month, up from 16,933 in January.
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