Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 December 2014
580. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the inability of persons to make appointments for car testing with the National Car Test, more than three months prior to the date of their intended appointment; if he will supportive of increasing the time limit such that appointments will be made within six months prior to the test being required. [48794/14]
View answerUnder the Road Safety Authority Act 2006 (Conferral of Functions) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 477 of 2006) the Road Safety Authority (RSA) 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 anticipation of the current strong demand for tests arising from the recent changes the penalty points regime, the RSA has run a campaign over the past few months to encourage people to book their test early. As the Deputy is aware, an NCT test may be undertaken up to 90 days in advance of the due test date without affecting the expiry date of the new certificate. This system is there to ensure that owners have ample time to have their vehicle tested before their current NCT certificate expires.
I have no proposals to extend this advance period. I would however, encourage people to avail of the advance booking facility. The RSA informs me that the advance booking period of 90 days does not, in itself, present any problems; any hurdle to be overcome arises from getting more people to use it.
