The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) has accused the Road Safety Authority of massaging driving test figures by moving testers from one category to another.

The IRHA has claimed that the RSA moved testers from HGV testing to car tests in order to reduce wait times for car driving tests. As a result of this move the wait for HGV test has increased “exponentially”, the IRHA claims.

IRHA President Ger Hyland has claimed that while the waiting lists for driving tests for a car fell by 10 per cent between April and June, the waiting lists for HGV tests rose by 40 per cent during the same period.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, IRHA President Ger Hyland said: “it is almost impossible to get an articulated truck driving and it’s affecting our industry unbelievably.”

In a statement, the RSA said that there were fewer tests conducted in June compared to May, when “record levels” of tests were carried out.

“This was due to the temporary prioritisation of training programmes for new driving testers, as per our Action Plan aimed at reducing driving test waiting times nationwide,” the statement said.

The RSA says it was was tasked by the Government with reducing waiting times for car tests to ten weeks by September and said it is continuing to deliver significant numbers of truck and bus tests.