Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)

I hear a very clear admission by the Department that the directive does not set out specific criteria regarding a drive-through lane. The business I am talking about serves Dublin's docklands. Businesses from Tipperary and other parts of the country bring their vans to be tested there because they are up in the docklands early in the morning and can get those vans tested during the day. It does not just affect companies in Dublin; it affects companies right across the country. I did not hear the Minister of State say that he has taken responsibility for this issue. This Government is talking about trying to reduce congestion and improve competitiveness for the logistics and haulage sector but it is going to force commercial vehicles to go out past the M50 to get tested. It makes no sense. The Government is playing into the hands of the big business of commercial vehicle testing centres and will put the small fellas out of business. That is wrong. It is also going to mean a loss of jobs, which is wrong.

Will the Minister of State find out which companies are going to lose out? He has spoken about the majority but not all companies can comply with the new regulations. I have yet to hear why exactly the RSA wants a drive-through lane. No engineering rationale as to why that is necessary has been put forward. The RSA seems to have arbitrarily decided that this should happen. I want the Minister of State to find out which companies are going to have to close because of this. In all good conscience, does he believe that is good enough for companies in Dublin or companies across the country that use Dublin's docklands every day and bring their cars to Dublin for testing? It is a nonsense to say that Dublin's docklands need to be developed and that it is the jewel in the crown with regard to trade in this country if those operating at the docks cannot get their cars tested close to their place of work.

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