The Minister of State for Transport, Dr James McDaid, has defended new NCT regulations that fail cars with number plates without the county name in Irish above the number.
Dr McDaid said: "Regulations relating to the size and format of number plates were clearly laid out by the Revenue Commissioners in 1992 and the NCT is simply ensuring that the law is complied in this, as in all other elements of the test.
"Number plates that don't conform to regulation are illegal and potentially pose problems for Gardaí whose job it is to enforce the law as well as for witnesses of traffic offences. It is also necessary for registration plates to comply with regulations in order for them to be read by cameras used by law enforcement officers and other traffic monitoring bodies. The message is clear: fit your car with appropriate plates or fail the NCT."
Just under 9 per cent of cars tested under the new regulations introduced oSeptember 15th have failed the NCT on registration plates, according to figures from the National Car Testing Services (NCTS).
The new criteria for failure includes not having the county name written in Irish, wrong colour, wrong size, broken plates, and wrong format. According to the NCTS, while these regulations have been in force since 1992 they are only being checked now and any re-test for this failure is free.
Dr McDaid has ruled out a change in the regulations governing the NCT, stressing the benefits to road safety of the stringent test.
"In one third of all fatal accidents and in one in eight serious injuries faulty vehicles have been a contributory factor, so it's very important for vehicles to be road-worthy."
His comments follow complaints from motorists over the increasing number of cars failing the test, up from 46 per cent to 60 per cent. Complaints have arisen over the additional criteria added to the test since September 15th, in particular the failure rate for faulty lights.
Despite ruling out changes to the system, Dr McDaid has left the door open for an appeals process whereby disgruntled motorists whose car has failed the NCT may have recourse to a system of redress or re-check.
"It has been mentioned to me that perhaps I should have an independent appeals system. I would look at that, but there are logistical difficulties in creating an appeal system which would have to be accessible to everyone across the geographical areas covered by the 50-plus NCT centres."
He has indicated his willingness to meet with fellow public representatives and the NCTS regarding the level of complaints received from the public since the introduction of the full test.
Dr McDaid added that the fail rate is perhaps not a true indication of the state of the country's cars. "It happens in every other European country. Here it's €48.40 to have your car tested. If you fail it, the re-test is €27.20 and a lot of people are now using the first NCT test as a very good diagnostic guide."
According to Samantha Breen of the NCTS, since the introduction of the full NCT, the overall fail rate has risen, as expected.
"Everything is a refusal failure now. In other words, if you fail on anything in the NCT, you have to come back for a re-test, but as before, if it is only a visual fail item and doesn't require the use of test equipment, then it is free."
However NCTS expects this trend to be a short-term phenomenon. "The overall fail rate has jumped but we expect this to be for a short period only, whereby the fail rate will level off again as it happened before, on the first and second phase of implementation."
The following faults have been added to the list of reasons for refusal to award an NCT certificate:
Misaligned headlights
Registration plates not conforming to legal requirements
Worn brake pedals
Defective horns
Faulty windscreen wipers
Missing or damaged rear-view mirrors
Front- and rear-wheel misalignment
Imbalance in shock absorbers
Rear-view mirror missing or damaged
Defective handbrake
Faulty doors, locks and anti-theft devices
Defective side lamps
Misaligned auxiliary lamps