A Fine Gael TD has expressed concern that the new compulsory motor vehicle test may threaten the livelihood of small undertakers whose hearses may not meet the criteria. Mr Paul Connaughton said some hearse owners had already had voluntary tests and many were shocked by the findings.
Many vehicles converted into hearses were imported from the UK and the US in the 1970s and 1980s, and are not expected to pass the tests, due to begin on January 4th.
Mr Connaughton called on the Minister for the Environment to grant hearse owners a "stay of execution" for two years.