Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)

There are currently 147 authorised commercial vehicle roadworthiness test operators. I will list the expiry dates for their authorisations. Sixty will expire on or after 18 March 2034 and seven will expire between 18 March 2027 and 18 March 2034. Their premises will also comply. Sixty-nine expire on 18 March 2027 and 11 operators have informed the RSA that they will not continue to operate after that date. Of the 69 companies whose authorisations are expiring, 51 are at different stages of completing their upgrades. Seven have works completed, 19 are in the process of carrying out the works, 13 are seeking quotations and a further six have planning approvals. One more planning approval is with the Department. Plans have been approved in two cases but it is not yet confirmed when works will commence. Plans have been submitted to the RSA and responses have issued to the operators in three further cases.

I take on board the point that some people might face a financial impediment in continuing. I will talk to the officials and see if I can get a reason that those operators must have a drive-through lane. These regulations were introduced in 2022. We are a long way down the road of implementing them. If we were to change them now, it would do a disservice to those who have already undertaken these investments. It is a double-edged sword. I will check that out. From reading these figures, it seems that many of the operators are in compliance with the standards or are in the process of complying with them. Of course, some have said they will not continue. I do not know if all of those decisions were made for financial reasons. Some may be retiring or so on. I will have a look at that.

See this speech in context