Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 February 2026
341. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Transport the minimum educational and professional qualifications required for vehicle inspectors employed at National Car Testing centres; the duration and content of their initial training programme; whether this training is externally accredited; and the body responsible for certifying inspectors prior to conducting independent inspections [15064/26]
View answer342. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Transport the total number of quality assurance audits conducted on NCT inspection decisions in 2024 and to date in 2026; the percentage of inspections subject to secondary review; and the rate at which initial fail decisions were overturned on formal appeal in each of those years. [15065/26]
View answer343. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Transport whether NCT inspectors are subject to performance metrics relating to throughput, efficiency, or statistical failure rates; if so, to outline the nature of those metrics; and whether any incentives or penalties are attached to inspection outcomes. [15066/26]
View answer344. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Transport the oversight mechanisms exercised by the Road Safety Authority over the NCT contractor in respect of inspection consistency and inspector training standards; and whether any contractual penalties, compliance notices, or remedial directions have been issued in the past three years. [15067/26]
View answer345. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Transport whether the Department or the Road Safety Authority has conducted any variance analysis of pass and fail rates across individual NCT centres; and whether the Minister will publish centre-by-centre statistical data for 2023, 2024 and 2025. [15068/26]
View answer346. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Transport the current contract value of the NCT operator; the duration of the contract; and the date on which the next competitive procurement process is scheduled to commence. [15069/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 341 to 346, inclusive, together.
The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has statutory responsibility for the National Car Testing (NCT) service under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006 and, as Minister, I have no function in respect of operational matters. Given the RSA's responsibility in this matter, I have referred the Deputy’s questions to the RSA for direct response. Please contact my office if a reply is not received within ten days.
Pending this response, the NCT service is currently contracted out to a third-party supplier, with the contract managed and overseen by the RSA's customer operations directorate. The service is subject to a regime of internal and external audits by the RSA Training & Standards Team, which is assisted by the Supervision Services Contractor and the Technical Inspection Services Provider to monitor the service provider’s adherence to key performance indicators and service level agreements. These external audit and assurance contractors are independent from the service delivery contractor.
The NCT is accredited to International Organization for Standardization standards. All NCT Inspectors are fully qualified mechanics who undertake an intensive three-week training programme delivered through classroom, practical and online training methods. All staff complete Code of Integrity training upon recruitment and on an annual basis thereafter. On-site and annual training programmes are delivered every year to staff to brief them on new technologies.
