Driving testers at Ireland’s Road Safety Authority (RSA) have voted overwhelmingly in favor of industrial action in a dispute over legal protections and vehicle insurance verification.
Members of the Fórsa trade union supported the move with a 95% majority with a turnout of 83%, the union announced on Tuesday.
The ballot followed a period of heightening tensions over what the union describes as a failure by RSA management to ensure that testers are fully and unconditionally indemnified while carrying out their duties.
The dispute centers around concerns that testers are being exposed to significant legal and financial risks when conducting driving exams in private vehicles provided by the public. Fórsa has warned that without a real-time verification system to guarantee that the driver’s car is insured, there is no way for staff to confirm if a vehicle is fully insured before the test begins, potentially exposing the instructor to legal risk.
According to the union, a management memo issued on December 9th clarified that testers are not automatically covered by the State Claims Agency if a test occurs in an uninsured vehicle. Coverage would reportedly only apply if a tester could prove negligence on the part of the RSA, a requirement the union labeled a “serious and ongoing risk” that could lead to costly legal battles for individual workers.
“The ballot result demonstrates that members want this issue resolved once and for all,” said Fórsa spokesman Ruairí Creaney, as reported by RTÉ News.
“Driver testers cannot be expected to get into vehicles to do their jobs when they have no clarity on whether the vehicle is uninsured.”
The union is seeking a straightforward guarantee of indemnity and direct access to the National Insurance Database to allow staff to verify a vehicle’s status.
The RSA stated that it appreciates the concerns raised and has engaged regularly with the union. The authority confirmed it has agreed with Fórsa to jointly refer the matter to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).
A WRC meeting is scheduled for January 20th, later this month. Fórsa indicated it will determine its next steps following those talks. If the dispute is not resolved, the resulting industrial action could lead to significant disruptions for learner drivers across the country.
This comes at a time when test times are already significantly delayed in much of the country.
By December 2026, the national backlog for driving tests saw wait times at 35 of the country’s 57 centers exceed the official 10-week target. The most significant delays were recorded in Mulhuddart, West Dublin, where applicants faced a 22-week wait just to receive an invitation to book.
When accounting for the additional three to five weeks required to secure an actual appointment, learners in the area are waiting nearly seven months to complete a test, prior to any industrial action.