Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 179: To ask the Minister for Transport the way in which the national car testing service is accountable to him; the monitoring arrangements that are in place to ensure that the service is operating in compliance with its contract and terms of operation; and if he has satisfied himself with the accountability of the service and the monitoring arrangements. [8750/06]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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National Car Testing Service Limited, NCTS, is required, under the car testing contract, to meet a range of performance standards for the service. These standards, which are designed to ensure test integrity and a high level of customer service, cover premises, test equipment, staff, test arrangements, facilities management, information technology and customer service.

The Department of Transport monitors the performance of NCTS to ensure that it delivers the service to the required standard. To assist the Department in that function a supervision services contractor — a consortium involving PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Automobile Association with engineering, financial, legal, IT and operational expertise — has been engaged and is working to an agreed programme for the Department. This programme includes: detailed monthly operational audits of the company's performance; regular controlled checks to ensure that consistent test results are obtained across the NCTS test centre network; each month reviewing the performance of a sample of vehicle testers as they carry out tests; carrying out spot checks without any advance warning on a representative sample of cars that have just undergone the NCT; carrying out detailed interviews with a representative sample of customers to assess customer satisfaction levels; and an annual review of the company's overall performance.

These measures ensure that the car testing service is comprehensively monitored and supervised and I am satisfied that the company is meeting the performance standards set for the service in the contract.