Mr. Maurice Treacy:

The RSA is doing a study at the moment. What tends to happen is that the RSA carries out a study and it comes up with conclusions based on the study. It carries out consultation processes and on that basis makes recommendations to the Department and the Minister. If the Minister is satisfied with those recommendations then it becomes the policy of the Department.

Deputy Harrington made a point about odometer testing. At the moment when NCT tests are being carried out the mileage of the vehicle is registered. As the legislation stands, it is not a road traffic offence to interfere with the mileage on a car. However, it is a consumer offence if a person tries to sell such a car and he has doctored the mileage. That is a consumer issue. The proposal in the Commission text is that the odometer issue would become an element of NCT testing and that it would then become a sanction. This causes us a little difficulty because all the checks in the test at the moment are observation tests to ensure the vehicle is safe. We maintain that the odometer element is on the margins of whether it is a safety issue.