10,610 learner drivers on the roads in Roscommon, Leitrim and Longford is a crisis

New figures released from the Irish Road Safety Authority (RSA) reveal that there are 394,128 learner permit holders now on our roads in Ireland at the end of September 2025. 10,610 of them are on the roads in Roscommon (4,485) Leitrim (2,328) and Longford (3,797).

There has been an increase of 12,257 learner drivers nationally on our roads since March of this year, just six months ago. The extraordinary number of learner drivers on Irish roads comes at a time when road deaths are spiralling. As of November 20th, 2025, Garda figures show that 158 people had lost their lives on Irish roads, 9 more deaths than on the same day in 2024.

Read more: 'A transformative step forward' -Housing plan reforms will speed up delivery of new homes

Most learner permit holders in Roscommon are aged between 17-20 (1,277 drivers) and 30 and 39 (822). 11 learner permit holders in Roscommon are over the age of 80 while 51 learner permit holders are between 70 and 79 years old in Roscommon according to figures provided by the RSA.

Most learner permit holders in Leitrim are aged between 17-20 (746 drivers) and 30 and 39 (421 drivers). 4 learner permit holders in Leitrim are over the age of 80 while 33 learner permit holders are between 70 and 79 years old in Leitrim.  

Most learner permit holders in Longford are aged between 17-20 (967 drivers) and 30 and 39 (788). 11 learner permit holders in Longford are over the age of 80 while 30 learner permit holders are between 70 and 79 years old in Longford. 

(Full figures on request)

Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) President Ger Hyland said the levels of inexperienced drivers on our roads “beggars belief” at a time when millions of taxpayers euros are being pumped into the RSA to clear a chronic backlog of driver testing across all licence categories”

Hyland warned that the surge in learner drivers on our roads poses a direct threat to Irish road safety,

“To have 394,128 inexperienced drivers on our roads is a testament to the failure of the Road Safety Authority and their mismanagement of our driver testing system. It is a mess and not getting any better, despite all the creative accounting that the RSA are doing with driver testing figures”

Hyland pointed to Garda figures which show that 2,754 fixed charge notices were issued nationally by Gardaí in the first three months of 2025 alone to learner drivers caught driving without a fully licensed driver. That is an increase of 9.5% on the same period in 2024.

Hyland said that our roads have become dangerous places for his members and accused the RSA of not getting a handle on what is a crisis for Irish road safety.

Hyland called on media to robustly interrogate the real story behind the vast numbers of Irish people waiting for car, truck and bus driving tests. Hyland said that the IRHA no longer has confidence in the data provided by the RSA,

“How are we supposed to accept that around 10% of Ireland’s driving public are on some kind of learner permit? We have been asking questions of the RSA for the past 12 months on behalf of our members and the driving public. The RSA have ducked, dived and dodged accountability and transparency and it is high time that Minister Sean Canney called them to task.”

Read more: Christmas at The Abbey Hotel in Roscommon offers a memorable experience

Longford's learner permit holders were 3,687 on March 31, 2025, and by September 30, 2025, 3,797 learner permit holders, which made an increase of 110. 

According to Hyland:

“Over thirty organisations representing road safety, cycling, and pedestrian advocacy groups across Ireland issued a joint statement last year expressing a lack of confidence in the Irish Road Safety Authority. Similarly, the Irish Road Haulage Industry has indicated that it no longer holds confidence in the RSA nor the figures they continue to present around driver testing. It is therefore imperative that the Minister engage with the transport sector and take appropriate and decisive action to address our concerns.

The figures show that the largest cohort of learner drivers nationally (96,130) are between the ages of 30- 39 indicating that drivers are leaving it late to undertake their driving test. 90,688 learner drivers nationally were between 17-20. Surprisingly, 410 learner drivers nationally were over 80 years of age.