SHANNON COUNCILLORS have said the Road Safety Authority is “in need of a geography lesson” while strong criticism has been voiced at staff within the National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) for their treatment of older drivers.
“Many issues and problems” have been experienced by the Clare public when accessing the delivery of their driver licences, a joint proposal from all elected members of the Shannon Municipal District to the March meeting of Clare County Council detailed while calling for action from the Government and Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan (GP).
They outlined, “The location of the Road Safety Authority branch office in the shopping centre in Ennis is proving very difficult to gain access and members of the public find the service delivery very poor from a customer engagement and manner of service”.
Local authority offices had been responsible for the services up until 2013, since then “a substantial amount of Clare residents living in towns and villages bordering Limerick find that their new address has them in Limerick”.
Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) suggested “a geography lesson would be in order” for the RSA and NDLS. He claimed there was “public outrage” with the standard of service. He described the current arrangement with lengthy queues and struggles to access as “a total shambles”.
An 83 year old “very independent man” after making an appointment with the NDLS was “berated” at their office in Ennis, an annoyed Cllr Tony O’Brien (FF) told the meeting. “There is no excuse for rudeness when dealing with the public, we all deal with the public. This gentleman was left belittled and small, he was hunted out of the office, he was instructed by the office that his licence was extended but he doesn’t know how long for. He drove down the road but didn’t know if An Garda Síochána stopped him how long it would be for. He wnly treated like this because he was in his eighties”.
Taking the service from Clare County Council has been a mistake, Cllr Michael Begley (IND) believed. “It is typical of the way changes are made, they make the changes and then decide what the rules are and how it is going to be manged,” he commented. Difficulty has also been experienced in paying online for some older motorists, Cllr John Crowe (FG) flagged, “Limerick were always trying to take Clare until we got it back, now they’re trying to take it by our licences,” he quipped.
County pride is at stake, Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF) stressed, “It’s down to our identity. The boundaries debate raises its head every now and again, we fight tooth and nail to keep Clare united, they have tried to take Shannon Banks and Meelick”. Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF) suggested a map be created saying what is Co Limerick and what is not within the Treaty County. Cllr PJ Ryan (IND) and Cllr Pat McMahon (FF) both supported calls to alter the current arrangement.
Poor customer service was also slammed by Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) with Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) also strong in his views, “what is going on is a disgrace. Don’t let it lie, I call on the local authority to put pressure on the Minister. Keep the pressure on for these elderly people that deserve better”.
In response Cllr Flynn commented, “The type of intimidation and incompetency that these staff have is disgraceful, there was only one hatch open here at the Council but never a queue”.
Chief Executive of the Council, Pat Dowling stated, “When the driving licence was taken off local authorities we regretted that happening but it is history”. He suggested to Cllr Flynn the motion be revised as the commentary and narrative on the needs of older people was not reflected in the wording. “We didn’t pigeon hole, we’ve called them out and I couldn’t be more happy with support from elected members,” Shannon Town resident Flynn replied.
