Ivor Callely (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

My Department monitors all aspects of the operation of the NCTS to ensure it delivers a car testing service to the required standard. To assist the Department in the function, a supervision services contractor has been engaged. The supervision services contractor is a consortium involving the AA and PricewaterhouseCoopers who have all the available engineering, financial, legal, IT and operational expertise and it is working to an agreed programme with the Department. I will not dwell on the actual programme.

The model of service provision lends itself to tighter and more effective monitoring and supervision and gives my Department an opportunity to intervene at the first sign of a departure from any performance standard in the operation of the service. I invite any Member to draw to my attention, on any occasion, where they consider that should be applied.

The contracting out of the car testing service does not mean the State has removed itself from this important area and left it to the NCTS to provide the service as it sees fit. My Department remains in control and is responsible for overseeing the car testing service. In carrying out the service on behalf of the State the NCT does so in accordance with the contract it has with the Minister, for which I have responsibility, which requires that it is delivered in conformity with specific performance standards. In the short time I have been in the Department, my understanding is that the service is working well as borne out by the performance indicators and it enjoys an extremely high level of approval from users. I am not complacent about the need to ensure the car testing service is delivered to the highest standards. In this regard the contract provides for a review of the service by the Minister after the passing of the midpoint in the life of the contract. The purpose of the review is to appraise the performance of the NCTS to date and assess a range of strategic issues such as the location and number of test centres, the content of the test, the quality of the service provided to car owners and any other issues which may arise.

I am pleased to inform the House that the review will commence early in the new year and will be completed in 2005. It will have a public consultation dimension and the outcome will be published. The question of making any changes in the service will be considered in light of the outcome of that review. I do not rule anything in or out of the review. Rather, I will drive it and everything will be up for consideration. I have outlined to the House the reality that the car testing service is a professional, efficient and first rate service given that the NCTS is on its first review.

I am satisfied that the NCTS is delivering the service to the standards of test integrity and customer service. This view is not based on perception or on a hunch but is supported by hard facts such as the minuscule levels of complaints. For example, just 961 complaints were received in 2003 representing less than 0.1% of the 934,500 tests and retests conducted that year and there have been consistently high customer service rating scores in the independent surveys.

The systems and controls which were put in place in respect of the service as part of the contract ensures that I am aware of the state of the service at any given time and in a position to exercise my regulatory functions in whatever ways are necessary should the circumstances so arise. I will be happy to exercise these if any Member brings to my attention the need to do so. A newspaper report about a problem a customer had with an aspect of the NCT in Abbeyfeale has been brought to my attention about which, if it is true, I have serious and deep concerns and will request a full report.