Seamus Kirk TD
Local Fianna Fáil TD Seamus Kirk has called on the Road Safety Authority to open an additional driving licence centre in North Louth.
At present anyone who wants to renew their licence in Louth has to travel to the Southgate Shopping Centre in Drogheda – a 126km round trip from Omeath in the north of the county.
Indeed, the Southgate Shopping Centre is actually based in Co Meath, meaning Louth has no such facility at present.
Commenting on the matter, Deputy Kirk said: “Over the last few weeks, I have had a number of irate constituents complaining about the existing NDLS Centre in Drogheda. Time delays, appointments not being met, shortage of staff and distance to the centre are the main complaints.”
After submitting a Parliamentary Question on the matter, Deputy Kirk was assured that an additional processing booth would be installed at the Drogheda centre to ensure those using the service spent as little time there as possible.
The RSA’s Moyagh Murdock responded: “The locations were selected to ensure that 95% of the population was within 50km of an NDLS centre. In addition, one of the features of the NDLS is that customers can visit any centre nationwide to apply for their licence or learner permit — they are no longer restricted to going to the centre in their hometown as was previously the case.
“So they can make it part of another trip, such as going to work or college, or visiting relatives in another county. They can also apply up to 3 months before their licence expires.”
However, Deputy Kirk said he would like to see an additional centre opened in Dundalk.
He said: “I urge the RSA to look at additional sites in Dundalk. Dundalk is the largest town in Ireland, with a population of nearly 40,000
“The NDLS is a step in the right direction, but there is more work to be done so that the public have easy access to the centres, where they can renew their licence in an efficient and effective matter,” said the Knockbridge man.
