Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Senator Malcolm Byrne may say that, but I will not have a go like that. I congratulate the Irish Aviation Authority, IAA, on the official opening yesterday of the brand new air traffic control tower in Dublin Airport. It was built due to a very significant investment by the State to facilitate the new runway, which will open in August. I congratulate the IAA on that.

Perhaps the Deputy Leader would write to the Minister for Transport to ask exactly what is going on with the national car test, NCT, service. I went in today just to look for an appointment and the three closest to me are in Deansgrange on 24 November, Greenhills on 17 October and Northpoint on 30 November. That is not acceptable. I know it might be possible to find a slot that has come in at midnight or 1 a.m., but the idea that the three busiest centres in the country only have appointment dates in October and November when we are asking people to drive cars that are tested and certified as being safe is not okay. I appreciate there have been backlogs due to Covid but I would like the Deputy Leader to write to the Minister for Transport to ask exactly what is going on.

Perhaps we could have a debate on road safety generally given that the crashes, accidents and fatality numbers are much higher this year. Equally, if we want people to drive safely, we also want people to drive in safe cars and they need to be tested to make sure that they are operating appropriately and safely. If it is taking that long, people's insurance is possibly compromised if they are driving a car that has not been passed. Technically, cars are not supposed to be on the road with an NCT that is out of date. Perhaps a blind eye is being turned to that, but we do need to have a system that is fit for purpose. That is very important. A car is a deadly weapon if used incorrectly and it is important that people are driving cars that are safe. It is important that people can avail of a system when they need it, not in five months' time.