A review of the National Car Testing Service (NCTS), to include public consultation, is to begin early next year, it was announced yesterday.
The Minister of State for Transport, Mr Ivor Callely said the NCTS review - to deal with issues such as the location and number of test centres and quality of service - would be completed by the summer.
Speaking at the official opening of the NCT centre in Blarney, Co Cork, Mr Callely said the public consultation process would give interested organisations the opportunity to make suggestions for improving the service.
The review will be carried out by the Department with the Supervision Services Contractor including expertise from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Automobile Association.
Mr Callely said car testing was here to stay and was making a worthwhile contribution in terms of road safety and environmental protection.
"Given this fact it is important that as many organisations and individuals contribute to the review and make their views known," he said.
He said the national average waiting time for an NCT test was currently 4.5 days which was substantially ahead of the contract requirement of four weeks for individual bookings. The waiting period for Cork city and county averaged 3.8 days. Mr Callely also officially launched the new NCTS on-line booking service.
He said a state-of-the-art IT system was the platform underpinning NCTS operations. Following further IT development, the on-line booking service went live in the summer and currently accounted for approximately 7 per cent of bookings. It was expected this would increase to 10 percent by the spring.
Mr Callely said customer satisfaction surveys indicated high levels of satisfaction with the car testing service. As part of the contract, the company operated a customer complaints and appeals procedure.
An independent appeals system was currently being piloted in the Dublin area, Mr Callely said. An AA inspector reviewed the test procedure and outcome and could conduct a fresh test if necessary. Subject to evaluation of the pilot scheme, the intention was to extend these arrangements throughout the State during 2005, he said.