Mr. Michael Moroney:

In connection with the NCT, at this stage we are saying all tractors should be exempted, not just tractors in contractor fleets specifically. We do not have the necessary information, we do not know what is coming down the line and there has been no consultation on the matter with bodies like ours which have a high proportion of tractors that could be liable to be tested because they are on the road to a greater extent. That is predominantly the reason.

We are very much in favour of road safety. The Deputy asked what tests are carried out. Tests will be carried out daily by contractors on their tractors to make sure they achieve the maximum efficiency. In typical silage-making operations, a silage contractor wants to achieve somewhere in the region of 100 acres of silage harvested per day. The weakest link in that is the machine. Everything has to be running perfectly to achieve that level of output, which is necessary to achieve a proper level of turnover and the minimum level of profitability. It is a very price-conscious sector and legitimate organised contractors need to achieve a high level of throughput. That can only be achieved if machines are in top order. Their priority every single day the tractor goes out is that it must be able to perform to its best. During any downtime that is available due to weather and so on, the equipment is constantly maintained and kept up to date if the opportunity presents.

If we look at the number of non-road related accidents that take place on farms, we see that 50% of fatalities are related to tractors and machinery, but a very small percentage of those are contractor machinery and most are related to non-contractor operated equipment. We are delighted to say that. It is a justification for saying that the equipment is safe and there is no specific requirement for an NCT for tractors, particularly when we have not been made aware of the details of such an NCT. We do not know what is involved and there has been no consultation, which we consider very unfair to the people it has a significant impact on.

On the issue of overtaking-----