Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Question 212: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has had any discussions with the Road Safety Authority regarding the uniformity of standards applied by Applus in its fulfilment of the national car test contract; and if he will publish the consistency audit report carried out by an independent contractor. [13863/11]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006 (Conferral of Functions) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 477 of 2006) the Road Safety Authority has responsibility for the delivery of the National Car Test (NCT). The award of the contract for carrying out the NCT and the criteria applying thereto is a matter for the RSA. There is regular and ongoing contact between the RSA and my Department on matters pertaining to the NCT.

Responsibility for the operation and delivery of the NCT lies solely with Applus. The RSA exercises a supervisory role to ensure the service is provided in line with the conditions of the contract. In order to assist the RSA in carrying out this supervisory role, the Authority has appointed a contractor to carry out certain supervisory services on its behalf. These relate to monitoring the achievement of the performance and acceptable standards by Applus, and reporting regularly to the RSA. This service is currently provided by a consortium made up of Price Waterhouse Coopers and the Automobile Association. The RSA continuously monitors Applus performance and has regular meetings with them to ensure compliance with contract requirements. Publication of the consistency audit report carried out by the independent contractor is a matter for the RSA.