Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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174. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to change the situation relating to NCT certificates where a person purchases a car that has a lapsed NCT certificate, for example, six months, and they renew it but must back date it, but if it was lapsed a full two years then they would get a full two years renewal. [52124/13]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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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 a vehicle is 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 determined by reference to the date of registration and subsequent anniversaries of that date.

NCT certificates are not pre or postdated. As a test certificate reflects the condition of the vehicle at the time the test was carried out, it would not be possible to issue a test certificate with an effective start date other than the date of execution of the successful test.  Where a NCT inspection does not occur on the original test due date, the NCT certificate is valid from the date of the test 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.

Currently, there is no legislation preventing the sale of a vehicle without a current NCT certificate. Consequently, potential purchasers need to be aware that the first NCT test on a vehicle they have purchased may result in an NCT certificate with an expiry date of less than 2 years. In a case where the expiry date of the current NCT certificate is more than 2 years in the past, the test due date is reset to the next anniversary of the date of the vehicle's first registration. However, in allowing such a period to elapse, the previous owner has committed an offence and may have been liable for prosecution as a result.

There are no plans at present to change the existing regulations and I am advised that my ability to change the regulations as proposed by the Deputy would not be possible under the relevant EU directives.