Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Stanton for raising this important matter. I will not be able to provide answers to all the questions he posed. I will, however, revert to him on those to which I am not in a position to respond now. I will be able to address some of the broad points he has raised.

I agree with the Deputy regarding the importance of NCT certificates and the difference they make in terms of ensuring the safety of cars and their occupants. It is correct that there is currently a strong demand for car tests but I have been informed by the Road Safety Authority that, in national terms, the system is well capable of meeting existing demand. I have figures in my possession to support this assertion. If the Deputy is in possession of figures which indicate that this is not the case, I would be very interested in his supplying them to me in order that I might follow up on the matter.

I wish to make clear that, as Deputy Stanton noted, since 2009 it has been an offence to use on public roads a vehicle which does not have a valid NCT certificate. At present, this is a straight-to-court offence which attracts five penalty points on conviction. What I will be doing shortly - by commencing section 10 of the Road Traffic Act 2014 - is bringing this offence within the fixed charge payment system. This will give people who are found not to have valid NCT certificates the option of receiving three penalty points on payment of the fixed charge rather than, as is currently the case, being automatically required to go to court where they will then receive five penalty points on conviction. There is a change taking place in order to allow for a larger proportion of the work relating to these offences to be deal with outside the court system. People who take the option to which I refer will, as already stated, only receive three penalty points. I am seeking to have the change in question implemented soon and this has given rise to the increased demand to which the Deputy refers.

The National Car Testing Service, NCTS, is required to achieve an average waiting time of no more than 14 days for full tests and no more than seven days for retests, with no individual test centre having a waiting time exceeding 21 days for full tests or 14 days for retests. The average waiting time in 2013 for a full test was 11.6 days and 4.4 days for a retest. In the first quarter of this year, the average waiting times were 11.6 days and 3.5 days, respectively. In quarter 2, these times were 12.1 and 3.3 days, respectively and in quarter 3 they were 10.9 and 2.88 days.

The RSA informs me that the NCTS met all performance standards in regard to waiting times in 2013 and to date in 2014. There has been some suggestion that there is currently a large backlog of customers waiting three months or more for a test. I am informed that this is not the case nationally.

Customers who need an early test are currently getting a test appointment, on average, within two weeks, with the vast majority getting their appointments within four weeks. Retest appointments are, on average, booked within three days. I will respond further when I hear what the Deputy has to say.

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