The current system for testing anti-lock brakes on buses needs to be re-examined in the wake of the Navan bus crash, it was claimed tonight.
The independent inquiry into the crash last May found the anti-lock braking system (ABS) on the school bus was disabled and follow up tests on seven more Bus Eireann vehicles revealed their ABS brakes were not working either.
Fine Gael Transport spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell said she was very concerned at claims that all seven had previously passed the standard test for ABS brakes and other safety features.
"It calls into question the efficacy of the test and is the test is meaningful at all? If mistakes are being made in that particular area, what other aspects of the test are ineffective?"
The tests on the two Bus Eireann school buses and five public buses were carried out at the company's Broadstone Depot in Dublin as part of the inquiries into the Navan bus crash.
All seven vehicles had previously passed the mandatory annual safety test. "You believe it could happen how one bus was disabled, but it's difficult to understand how seven could have it (ABS) disabled.
There are an awful lot of questions to be answered there alone," said Ms Mitchell. The ABS system is designed to prevent the brakes from jamming in the event of an emergency and helps a vehicle to stay on the road.
It is understood that the current annual test for buses and heavy goods vehicles relies on checking a display light which indicates the presence of ABS.
However, inspectors have no way of knowing if the ABS system is really working. Bus Eireann has now hired a private contractor to examine its ABS systems, while road hauliers have reported an increased focus by inspectors on their ABS systems during tests carried out in recent months.
Ms Mitchell said it was vital for a prompt end to the separate investigations into the Navan bus crash, which killed five teenage girls and injured 46 school children last May.