Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. We saw a lot of Deputy Donohoe when he was a Member of this House but we do not see quite as much of him nowadays because he is doing a lot of work elsewhere.

We need to put the National Car Testing Service in a wider context. Its main aim is to prevent accidents. Does the Minister have figures on how many accidents are caused by mechanical failure? Is there a figure for that? It is extremely important to get that information as a starting point. In some countries, it is estimated that only 1% of accidents are caused or partly caused by technical faults. In the state of California, for example, which is considered to have one of the top ten economies in the world, a car test does not involve technical checks but simply an emissions test. People drive rusty cars, duct-taped cars, cars with missing windows and so forth, but as long as the car is drivable, the police in California simply do not care because such vehicles rarely, if ever, contribute to accidents. In Ireland, on the other hand, cars are being failed for what some might consider very arbitrary reasons, such as side reflectors not being red enough. There has been much talk of EU regulations requiring a road test. However, a car test certificate in France is valid for two years, while it is only valid for one year here. That does not make sense.

One of the best ways to improve road safety would be to improve our roads, as Senator Norris has pointed out. In particular, we should focus on those badly designed roads which actually contribute to crashes. In the United Kingdom, research has shown that investment in safe road infrastructure projects could yield a reduction of up to a third in road deaths, saving as much as £6 million per year. That is the real issue in my view. I have spoken to engineers who are staggered by some road design in this country, saying that it would not be allowed in places such as Germany. Perhaps this is not the responsibility of the Minister, but the Government should commission a survey of badly designed roads and initiate improvement works on them.

I was delighted to hear the Minister express confidence in the changes that are taking place, because much concern has been expressed about the NCTS. Given that over half of cars tested must be retested, the NCTS should be more up front with people and tell them that the true cost of the test is more likely to be €83, with the retest fee included, as opposed to the €55 fee that is advertised. The lower fee is disingenuous; the €83 figure is the one that should be advertised to the public, because that is the fee that the majority of people will pay. That would be fairer to the consumer.

I am also concerned by the NCTS website, which states that one of the benefits of the NCTS is that it has offered employment to approximately 550 people. I am very worried by anything that is run on the premise of offering jobs. It seems like a very strange point to make in justifying its existence. On a related note, the RSA employs nearly 300 people, which seems to me to be a huge number. I know it is a quango but it is very difficult to criticise an organisation that hides behind slogans such as "Saving Lives". How does one criticise that? We could learn a lot from our European neighbours when it comes to the NCT. We could follow the example of France and make the test certificate valid for two years, or of Sweden, where the vehicle tester points out faults to the customer as a first step, which would improve transparency. It is very clear that there are many areas on which both the NCTS and the RSA can improve. I am interested to hear what steps will be taken in the near future by the Minister. A number of initiatives can be taken, and I know the Minister's heart is in the right place in this regard.