Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

The Taoiseach rightly said that the customer deserves a service. Will he agree that where the State imposes an obligation on the public, such as NCT testing, a service provided on behalf of the State as a result of legislation passed in this Parliament, the customer should be facilitated? Is he aware that in some testing stations, at present, where previously car owners were sent a date and an appointment time for vehicles to be tested, now they have to phone up and be put on a waiting list? This is a perfect example of somebody who must adhere to the law, but whose date might have expired before the company carrying out the service on behalf of the State had changed the rules. Does the Taoiseach agree that it is important that this Parliament be answerable? When a Deputy such as myself tables a parliamentary question as to why this has happened, the Minister responsible passes him or her on to the Road Safety Authority. We should be able to talk about service in the Dáil. I ask the Taoiseach to get the Minister to look into this matter and ensure questions are answered in the House reflecting the service, as he rightly says, that the customer deserves.

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