Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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60. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he plans on reviewing the fee for the NCT test; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17445/26]

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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In 2024, my Department commissioned Indecon Economic Consultants to carry out an independent, external review of the Road Safety Authority (RSA). This review was presented to Government and published in November 2024.

In total, the report made 34 recommendations. The report recommended that fees for RSA customer service should be set to ensure customer-focused activities are self-sustainable and are cost-reflective. The report noted that this was likely to require an increase in fees in 2025 and modest increases in subsequent years.

The RSA has been largely self-funded in respect of its operations since 2014 and the vast majority of the Authority’s funding comes directly from income for customer services such as driver testing, driver licencing and the National Car Testing (NCT) service.

Arising from the recommendation of the Indecon report, the fees for certain RSA services increased on 1 January 2025 to raise additional revenue and improve the RSA’s financial position. This included the fees for an NCT full test and re-test and were the first fee increases since 2012.