Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)

There is a difficulty with competition in terms of the benchmarking of a service. It took a young fellow about three quarters of an hour to change two bulbs. My concern is that garages are offering a service described as a pre-NCT that will solve all problems. A driver may pay a fixed fee of €100, €150 or €200 for an overall inspection and if there is anything seriously wrong he or she must pay extra. That is what is infuriating so many motorists who pay a garage but then fail the NCT test. It is a reflection on garages who are not offering a genuine service to customers. It is natural for drivers to become infuriated if they are going to and from a garage after failing the NCT. I am concerned about those who are supposed to be resolving the issues but are not doing so. Let us not shoot the messenger. As far as I am concerned, the messengers are those who are carrying out the NCT. The idea of competition in this regard is completely harebrained. If two people are to compete as a regulatory authority, will we establish competition in the Food Safety Authority? Will we set up different branches or competitive environments within the regulatory sector? That would be outrageous.