Fine Gael has called for motor garages to be licensed to carry out the National Car Test (NCT), saying the current system is too bureaucratic and time consuming.
The current structure involving designated NCT centres should be abolished, according to the party's Dublin spokesman Senator Brian Hayes. He complained that while almost one in three cars in the State was registered in Dublin, just three of the 43 NCT centres are in the capital.
"Car owners in Dublin are receiving a raw deal from the NCT system," he said in a statement yesterday. "When one looks at the number of cars in the city and the NCT centres to test them, and compares it with the situation outside Dublin, one immediately sees that there is a strong argument for reforming the current system," he said.
The system was unnecessarily restrictive, he added.
"What I am proposing is that garages would apply to operate the NCT test and be awarded a licence to operate the test for a fixed period, say three years in duration. When applying for this licence they would have to satisfy clear quality control measures and be subject to review at licence renewal time, and at regular intervals during the period of the licence."
Senator Hayes said this would give car owners a greater choice of locations to choose from, shorter waiting times for appointments, a one-stop shop for pre-test checks and post-test work, and the possibility of competing garages offering deals on pre-test check ups.
"With car ownership levels having increased at the rate they have in the last five years there is no reason why the NCT should be operated by a public sector monopoly," the statement said.