Mr. Harry Lee:

On the term "write-off", I probably did not explain it properly. The term "write-off" covers all write-offs. From an engineering point of view, the titles usually used are end of life vehicle, now commonly known as the category As or Bs, which are vehicles that are not to go back on the road under any circumstances. Then there are the Cs and Ds, which are beyond economic repair. No vehicle in category A or B goes back on the road. As far as I understand, the Department has been told to lock these down. Within the C and D categories there are a lot of structurally-damaged and unsafe vehicles that need to be repaired. That is where the problems happen. Those vehicles go back out in the market or into the trade and there is nothing to ensure that the person who repairs them knows they have to get it back to a certain standard. It is just not there. The current idea of sending As and Bs to be checked to see if they are fit for purpose is not sufficient. The first step, which can be taken straight away, is to have the insurance companies forward the Cs and Ds and we can deal with them. That could be expanded in the future until it just comes down to the ones that need to be inspected afterwards to receive a report to say it can go back on the road. Not all of them need a full engineer's report.

As I said earlier, many vehicles do not go through the insurance process. There are a lot of benefits to a vehicle going through the insurance process. It changes the attitude of people repairing them because they know there may be somebody coming behind and checking their work. However, when it just goes out on its own there is nothing there to ensure that it is properly maintained. There are a lot of garages and repairers who are doing a great job and doing it properly. They are not where the problems are. The problems are elsewhere. Some of these people do not realise what they should be doing and some, I am sorry to say, do not care. We need a structure in place to ensure that when these vehicles go back on the road, which happens quite often, they are in a safe and roadworthy condition.

I have not consulted with anyone else. In previous years I was in contact with the Road Safety Authority and such agencies. I have been working on today's issues for the past couple of years and I have not directly consulted with anyone.