Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

Will the Leader speak to the relevant Minister about fading public confidence in the NCT? A total of 150,000 vehicles have been incorrectly failed. Recently, a person whose car failed the NCT challenged the result and returned to the centre 90 minutes afterwards with verification of the inaccuracy of the machinery being used at the test centre. The decision was overturned. It is most important that the people operating the test centres have proper machinery so confidence in the test can be restored. Vehicle testing is an important aspect of road safety, in view of the slaughter on our roads. It is important that the Minister moves quickly to restore confidence in this area.

In the past few days the Department of Agriculture and Food presented a new REP scheme to the EU. The Minister is the current President of the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers and it is unfortunate that the scheme has been rejected by the Council. If this was a hurriedly revised scheme, that might be acceptable but the introduction of the third REPS has been postponed on numerous occasions. The officials in the Department and the Minister must take the blame for the rejection of the scheme by the EU. The Minister for Agriculture and Food and his officials should immediately produce a suitable scheme and present it again to the Council so the people who are looking forward either to entering the scheme or to continuing the scheme on their farms can be allowed to proceed on that course for the environmental improvement of rural areas.