Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, 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 (RSA) has overall responsibility for the delivery and oversight of the National Car Test.

Under the Project Agreement in place between the RSA and the National Car Testing Service (NCTS), the NCTS contractor is required to accept bookings made by personal caller, post, telephone, facsimile, e-mail or using a web based booking system. On average, 35% of NCTS bookings are made online.

The RSA informs me that this year the NCTS has experienced the highest demand since the introduction of testing and therefore must manage the allocation of staff and the release of test slots very carefully. I understand that this may mean that, on occasion, there is not the availability of test slots online .

However, the availability of appointments on the NCT website is not a reflection of the total number of slots available for customers. Customers are advised that if they cannot obtain a suitable slot online they should contact the NCTS call centre directly on (01) 4135992.

Any owner who requires a test quickly should receive an appointment within 28 days.  To meet this standard, in some cases, the NCTS holds requests on a waiting list until suitable slots are found. In the majority of cases, customers are given a slot within the required timescale.  However, if a slot is not found within 28 days the test should be offered free of charge.  I am advised that currently, customers requesting a test are getting an appointment, on average, within 2 weeks with the vast majority getting appointments within 4 weeks. Retest appointments are, on average booked within 3 days.

NCTS met all performance standards in regard to booking times in 2013 and to date in 2014 and accordingly, no contractual penalties were applied.

The RSA has comprehensive supervision arrangements in place to ensure that NCTS adheres to key performance indicators and service level agreements including test bookings and customer service.