Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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361. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason NCT certificates were backdated to the original date of an appointment when two appointments were necessary due to faults with NCT testing equipment and the second appointment was delayed due to the closure of testing centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33760/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I would firstly seek to clarify to the Deputy that all Member States of the European Union are required by law to carry out a periodic roadworthiness inspections on motor vehicles at regular intervals throughout the vehicle's lifecycle. This is an essential safety check and an important road safety measure that provides for a reduction in road accidents by detecting defects such as faulty brakes, worn tyres or defective headlights. This is all the more important for drivers as we face into the winter months.

The applicable dates for periodic testing is provided for by national legislation. Under Regulation 3(2) of the Road Traffic (National Car Test) Regulations 2017 (S.I. No. 415/2017), the initial test due date for a vehicle is determined using the date of registration of that vehicle and subsequent test due dates fall on anniversaries of that date. Accordingly, all test due dates are predetermined based on the date of registration of a vehicle and any NCT certificate issued in respect of a vehicle is only valid up to the test due date that falls after that certificate was issued.

The NCT certificate relates solely to the condition of testable items at the time of testing and does not constitute a warranty for their condition. Earlier in the year, problems with vehicle lift equipment used by NCT Test Centres meant that, in certain cases, partial NCT inspections were undertaken with the omission of underbody inspections. In general, when drivers presented their vehicle for the subsequent underbody inspection later in the year, the items tested as part of the initial NCT inspection were not retested. Accordingly, it is not appropriate to attest to the roadworthiness of the items inspected earlier in the year at the time the latter inspection took place.