A detailed briefing from the Department of Transport warned that any significant change in the number of learner permits a person could hold would likely trigger “a surge of applications.”

Officials cautioned that this could place additional strain on an already overwhelmed testing system, according to records they released.

The briefing noted, “That is why it’s crucial for the testing capacity to return to service level agreements [a maximum ten-week wait] before the changes are announced.”

At the time the document was prepared late last year, over 230,000 people held learner permits without having taken a driving test.

Among them were around 32,000 individuals on their third or subsequent provisional license who had never taken a test.

The briefing also stated: “There are no records prior to 2009, so it’s impossible to determine how many learner permits issued from 1994 to 2008 did not result in a test. The actual figure could be lower.”

A more detailed analysis showed that 317 people had been on a learner permit since 1994, with 117 of them never taking a test since 2009.

Additionally, 327 drivers were on a provisional license from 1995, 124 of whom had not taken a test over a 15-year period.

Other long-term learner license holders included 414 from 1996, 463 from 1997, and 594 from 1998.

A separate report in May on the proposed changes described it as “a very complex project” requiring new legislation.

The report added: “System changes are needed in many areas of the RSA, and some existing systems may not be capable of handling the changes. A new system could take up to two years to implement.”

A memo from January, following a workshop with stakeholders, outlined the challenges ahead. It noted that driver education systems had long surpassed Microsoft’s extended support and that manual updating of records would be required in certain cases, such as when a person had been disqualified.

The memo further warned: “Full and accurate costs can’t be determined until contractors respond to change requests. Caution is advised regarding the complexity of system rules, the effort required to build them, and future maintainability. This is a major project for the RSA, requiring substantial resources and budget.”

When asked about the plans, a spokesperson for the Department of Transport reiterated its commitment to addressing the issue of drivers spending extended periods on learner permits.

The spokesperson said: "An approach to resolve this has been agreed upon with the RSA, and discussions on its implementation are ongoing. The intention is to proceed once the driver testing backlog is resolved. The service is currently facing unprecedented demand, with a 23% year-on-year increase in applications.”

They also noted that a significant number of new driving testers had been hired this year and last to help reduce waiting times to below the target of ten weeks.