Written answers

Thursday, 28 November 2013

Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

National Car Test

Photo of Brendan  RyanBrendan Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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184. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if the rules of the NCT scheme can be examined in order that a vehicle which passes an NCT after initially failing has the new NCT certificate awarded from the date the car is roadworthy and not from the date the previous NCT disc expired; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51204/13]

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo 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. The RSA has overall responsibility for the operation, oversight, development, quality assurance and delivery of vehicle testing arrangements. In accordance with EU Directive 2009/40/EC, the minimum requirement for roadworthiness testing of passenger cars is that a roadworthiness test is undertaken when the vehicles are four years old and every two years thereafter from the date of first registration of the vehicle.  Additionally, Ireland requires that vehicles in excess of ten years old be tested annually.

Under the Road Traffic (National Car Test) Regulations 2009, S.I. No. 567 of 2009, and in accordance with the Directive, the test due date is calculated by reference to the date of first registration of the vehicle. Where an NCT inspection does not occur on the original test due date, the NCT certificate is valid from the date of the original test due date to the next test due date. This can result in a certificate of less than 1 or 2 years duration, depending on when the car was presented for a test. No provision exists to permit an extension of the period covered by an NCT certificate beyond the next test due date. There is a 30 day time period for a re-test which is deemed to provide customers with a reasonable amount of time to address the fail items identified and arrange a retest, while minimising the risk that additional fail items may develop in the intervening period.

It is a road safety imperative that all vehicles are adequately maintained and fit for use on a public road and I have no proposal to amend the current periods of validity of certificates of roadworthiness.

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