Written Answers. - Parliamentary Debates - Houses of the Oireachtas

Questions— 14 February 2012. Written Answers
information as part of an effort to enhance the experience for visitors to Ireland; and if he will
make a statement on the matter. [8198/12]
Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (Deputy Leo Varadkar): It is the responsibility
of every front-line tourism business to ensure its employees provide a first-class customer
service to our visitors. This extends to engaging with visitors and sharing knowledge and information
with them to ensure they enjoy their holiday to the fullest extent possible. The most
recent Visitor Attitude Survey published by Fáilte Ireland for 2010 shows that 95% of visitors
to Ireland expressed satisfaction with the friendliness of the people they met on their visit. This
suggests that we are, generally speaking, getting things right in this area. Fáilte Ireland is
responsible for promoting and supporting the training and education of people for employment
in the tourism industry. In this regard, Fáilte Ireland has many programmes that provide training
aimed at ensuring an excellent customer service for visitors. I have referred the Deputy’s
question to Fáilte Ireland to enable the agency to inform the Deputy of its activity in this area.
Please advise my office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
National Car Test
755. Deputy Seán Kenny asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the amount
of revenue generated through the fees of driving tests and the national car testing services for
2009, 2010, 2011 and to date in 2012; the reasons the fee for an NCT was increased from €50
to €55; the reason vehicles aged over ten years will now be required to undergo a NCT each
year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8209/12]
Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (Deputy Leo Varadkar): Under the Road Safety
Authority Act 2006 (Conferral of Functions) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 477 of 2006), the operation
of the driver testing and national car testing (NCT) services are matters for the Road Safety
Authority. I have referred this part of the Deputy’s question to the authority for direct reply.
Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days. The €5
increase in the NCT fee from €50 to €55 was sanctioned to take account of the VAT increase
on services, the increase in the consumer price index for 2011 to help make the RSA selffinancing
over the coming years, thereby removing its reliance on Exchequer funding. I have
indicated that there will be no further increase in NCT fees for the next three years. The effects
of wear and tear on a vehicle become more evident as it ages and a corresponding increase of
failure rates is seen at NCT. When NCT testing was first introduced, less than 4% of vehicles
passed the test at the first attempt. Since then, the pass rate has risen steadily to almost 70%
for cars which are four years old, while the pass rate on the first attempt for cars over ten years
old had deteriorated to just 33%. With effect from 1 June 2011, cars older than ten years must
undergo annual roadworthiness testing. Road traffic collision statistics for 2009 show that
41.5% of fatal collisions and 46% of serious injuries arose from collisions that involved vehicles
that were ten years old or more, and older vehicles are also more likely to be involved in a
collision. As at the end of 2011, 28% of all taxed private motor vehicles were ten years or
older. For those reasons, I believe the annual testing of vehicles of ten years and older is a
valuable safety measure.
Public Transport
756. Deputy Seán Kenny asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will
request Dublin Bus to have buses regularly going to Dublin Airport from a location (details
supplied) in Dublin 13; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8210/12]
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