Applus+ report NCT bribery claims to Gardai
Cartell.ie understands that Applus+, the company given responsibility to conduct the National Car Test (NCT) will launch an internal investigation following revelations last night on RTÉs Prime Time programme which claimed bribes had been accepted by NCT officials in return for allowing defective vehicles pass the test.
This calls into question the integrity of the NCT process not least because angry motorists will now question why they are spending significant amounts of money to ensure their vehicle meets the required standards.
The vehicles in question on the programme were defective taxis which had initially failed the NCT but which subsequently were granted an NCT certificate following the payment of a bribe of €100 per vehicle. In a statement by Applus the company said it would ‘vigorously investigate the matter and had reported the issue to the Gardai.’
You can watch the Prime Time investigates programme here.
UPDATE: Three employees of Applus+ have been sacked in response to the RTÉ Prime Time Investigates programme.
Teresa kavanagh says:
The documentary about the road taxi drivers and nct dishonest testers. It is a disgrave as the rest of us hard working folk honour their nct resukts, my car is an 06 and it cost me over €1000 to get fixed. I cant imagine what state those 1990 cars are in. As for those taxi drivers, its many other bodies responsible such as the judges allowing those criminals to put the public in danger. It looks that judges put customers safety secondary to a drivers living. He broke the law so get another job, like sell the big issue. I am aware what to look out for when travelling in a taxi, but previous dangerous convictions is not one. As a customer in possible danger i have a right to know who is driving the cab. A register of offenders with photos should be set up for public view.
Tony Wallis says:
On my last NCT the car needed several hundred euro worth of work to get a pass. Had I known there was the option to pay cash it would have been cheaper to bribe and flog the car, as I’m sure some people are doing. Its just like all the banking scams, there will be a big investigation costing millions of euro, nobody will go to jail and nobody will be fired.Will they even track down the cars that failed? The NCT is a good thing, lets not let crap like this ruin its reputation.
Gareth Copley says:
It is just sickening all this corruption that has recently come out regarding the NCT centres, At the end of the day I beleiveThis is just another business racket filled with corruption to get more money out of us tax payers. Its speed and alcohol abuse that kills not faulty light bulbs or other stupid little things that they fail you on. People should make a stand on this. I still haven’t put mine through and its been over a year! And will continue not to even more now, after all this corruption has come out after it was highlighted on Pat Kenny’s The Front Line.