Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I just want to point out that the RSA is currently doing 4,000 tests per week, but the number of people who are eligible and waiting for an invitation to book is almost 72,000. That is a backlog of approximately 18 full weeks. If nobody applied, it would take 18 weeks to clear the backlog, leaving aside people applying and so on. I therefore think it needs to be looked at.

I will touch on the NCT, representatives from which have no doubt been sitting there and waiting for a few questions. Lots of the statistics are improving and we should acknowledge that. There are lots of statistics we are being told people are very good on, such as answering the phone, etc. However, ideally, I do not want to go near the phone. I have had to ring the NCT and I found the people involved very pleasant and easy to deal with, but the website should be able to deal with most of the queries. At the moment, I am looking at a date in Deansgrange for 18 April 2024. I know that I can probably get one faster, but why is the website not letting me do that?