A Co Armagh mum has hit out at the "excessively long wait" she has faced trying to get a provisional licence as someone with a medical condition.
Lora Corr, 34, from outside Newry, has been waiting since January to get her provisional license renewed.
The mum-of-one says the uncertainty surrounding when she'll finally receive her licence has left her in limbo and out of pocket as she's forced to rely on taxis and public transport to get around.
Read more: MOT Northern Ireland: What to do if you're struggling to get an appointment
Lora told Belfast Live : "I had a provisional licence granted in February 2019, which expired after three years in February of this year due to a minor health issue.
"Despite Covid restrictions meaning that for the majority of those three years the licence was valid and I was unable to actually take any lessons, there was no extension granted like there was with the MOTs for example.
"I had to pay an additional £30 which, during the cost of living crisis I could have certainly done without paying. I was sent a form to send to the GP which took two months to be filled out and returned.
"When it arrived back at the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) office there was a two week delay before the medical forms were sent to the Occupational Health Office.
"I was then advised that because of Covid restrictions, I have to wait 8-12 weeks to get a response back from the OH team before my application can continue being processed.
"However, it has now been over 16 weeks and I'm still waiting. I called last week for an update, I was told that it was going to be marked urgent and I would get an update in 24 hours, which passed with no update.
"I called them back and they said 24 hours is more of an estimate and they will contact me soon. It took 10 days to get a response to the 'urgent' update and it was the same response as always; you'll get it when you get it basically."
Lora added: "I am told the waiting time to get a new one sent out is about as long as a piece of string. I cannot get an update as to how much longer I will be waiting.
"I have moved house and have to rely on taxis and trains to get my daughter about and to go to work, which is further increasing my expenses.
"I appreciate that the DVA are understaffed due to Covid, which is a bit of a thin excuse at this point. I genuinely think the entire process is unsympathetic to the needs of their service users.
"Frankly, it's discriminatory to make people with health issues to have to wait for such a long time without being given any form of update."
Shortly after Belfast Live contacted the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) for a response to Lora's plight she received word that her case was finally moving forward.
"I had a phone call from the DVA who said that a decision was made today that I was to be granted a provisional license and I also got an email sent through saying the same thing," she explained.
"I was also advised that I would now be getting a ten year licence."
In response, a DfI spokesperson said: "Where a driver has a medical condition that may impact their ability to drive safely, they are required to advise the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA), this may be on application for a licence, renewal of an existing licence, or during the lifetime of a licence.
"On receipt of a notification that a driver has a medical condition that may impact their medical fitness to drive, the DVA is required to complete medical investigations against the medical fitness to drive standards.
"The publication sets out the standards and while the guide is published by the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in Great Britain (GB), the standards are UK wide and therefore also apply in Northern Ireland (NI).
"Medical assessments for fitness to drive are undertaken for the DVA by the medical advisors in the Occupational Health Service (OHS).
"Due to an increase in the number of referrals and resourcing issues in OHS, there is currently a backlog of assessments to be completed.
"OHS are working to address their resourcing issues and the DVA and OHS liaise regularly to identify and progress the most urgent cases.
"It is important to note that drivers may be covered to drive pending completion of those medical investigations, provided certain conditions are met, those conditions include, that the driver has not previously had a licence refused on medical grounds, is not applying for a licence after a period of disqualification and has not been advised by a medical practitioner that they should not drive.
"This cover may apply even where the licence has expired, that cover applies also to provisional driving licences.
"The DVA can also advise that in an effort to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, driving licences that expired between 1 February 2020 and 31 December 2020, were extended for a period of eleven months. Drivers whose licences expired in this period were not required to take any action.
"The Department can confirm the licence has been processed."
READ NEXT:
Latest fatality on dangerous stretch prompts fresh calls for safety measures
Police chase in Co Down 'after man seen slumped over wheel of car'
Mountfield crash claims the life of man and two others seriously injured
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here. To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see here.
