Vol. 572 No. 5
147 Mr. O'Dowd asked the Minister for Transport if a complete analysis of car test results for County Louth and, in particular, the percentage who fail their first test can be provided and the reasons and headings given for same; the result by test centre in County Louth; and the comparative figures to other counties. [23798/03]
National Car Testing Service Limited is required to meet a range of performance standards for service delivery. These cover customer service, premises, test equipment, staff, test arrangements, facilities management and management information technology. A primary objective of these standards is to optimise test integrity and consistency across the testing network.
My Department oversees a monitoring programme to ensure that the company delivers the car testing service to the required standards. It includes detailed monthly operational audits of the company's performance; quarterly controlled checks to ensure that consistent test results are obtained across the NCTS test centre network; each month reviewing the performance of a sample of vehicle inspectors as they carry out tests; carrying out spot checks without any advance warning on a representative sample of cars that have just undergone the NCT; carrying out detailed interviews with a representative sample of customers to assess customer satisfaction levels; and a comprehensive annual review of the company's overall performance.
As a consequence, customers can be confident that there are no variations in the standards of the test no matter where it is conducted on the network. Due to these safeguards test outcomes represent the actual condition of vehicles presented for test.
The failure rates for vehicles on first presentation for the NCT at the Drogheda and Dundalk test centres for each year since testing commenced in 2000 together with the relevant national failure rate are set out in the following table:
Percentage failure rate on first presentation
|
Year |
DroghedaTest Centre |
Dundalk Test Centre |
Nationally |
|
2000 |
57.1% |
55.1% |
52% |
|
2001 |
42.7% |
34% |
38% |
|
2002 |
48.3% |
47.9% |
47% |
|
2003 to date |
45.3% |
50% |
47% |
In view of the many NCTS service requirements outlined above, I am satisfied that these figures reflect the actual condition of vehicles presented for test in the test centres in question.
My Department does not compile information on the reasons for failure of the test for all of the tests carried out annually.
