Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State and particularly his vigorous defence of the NCT service. I only wish that the driver testing system was a fraction as efficient. I have some experience of the national car test having twice put my car through it. I find that if one makes an appointment the staff are ready to deal with one's car when one arrives, if one arrives on time. The staff are polite and efficient. It is true that improvements may have to be made.

An example was given in the debate of a seat belt that was not functioning. That is quite a serious fault and there is much evidence that if one is not wearing a seat belt in the event of an accident, one is far more likely to suffer an injury. A malfunctioning seat belt results in a quite legitimate disqualification. To be frank, one might query whether one should have to change a number plate that is not bilingual, for example. On the other hand, what better way is there of ensuring that the State regulations on motor cars are enforced?

There is some expense associated with the system. As has been said, the NCT service was introduced under an EU directive. It probably should have been introduced 15 or 20 years previously. I suppose we were tolerant of people driving old bangers in a state of bad repair but the problem was that, in being soft on them, we were probably being very hard on those who suffered death and injury in road accidents as a result. That is not to mention the environmental pollution caused by such vehicles.

I heard it suggested that, as an alternative to the national car test, one's local garage could do the testing. This is like saying the class teacher should mark a student's leaving certificate examination. This seems to be a totally unworkable solution.