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Transportation Minister Shane Ross said that due to public health guidelines around social distancing, NCT testing will not resume any time soon.
He said the situation was similar for the driving tests and that “it would probably be quite late in the day” when they can resume.
Car testing under the National Car Testing program was suspended on March 28. Driving tests were suspended on April 17 under measures to stop the spread of Covid-19.
In response to questions from independent TDs Danny and Michael Healy-Rae in the Dáil, the minister said that the driving tests would be very difficult to perform due to the closeness of people when they are together in a car.
Minister Ross said it would be reasonable to speculate that “it will probably be quite late in the day. The reality is that driving tests will be very, very difficult to introduce under social distancing, and it would be because the distance between people when we are in cars together, it’s so close … similar with NCT testing. “
The minister said his department would be guided by the council of the National Public Health Emergency Team on both issues.
Ross previously told the Dáil that it is “highly likely” that travelers will be asked to cover their faces next week due to Covid-19.
Ross said the problem was addressed yesterday by the chief physician, Dr. Tony Holohan, and that a recommendation will be made by the end of the week.
He said it seemed very likely that “coatings” would be required in places like public transportation and supermarkets.
The minister said we do not know what the demand will be like next week or if people will be reluctant to get on buses.
He also said that proposals are being studied to make it mandatory to fill out the public health passenger location form in ports and airports.
Ross said this would mean that the gardaí can follow up and make phone calls and do spot checks so he can be sure this is enforced.
Minister Ross said there was a problem with the omission of some forms and the reasons are under investigation.
He said that for some reason people were not completing the forms and it could have been because they were delivering them at the starting point rather than arriving.
The minister also said that airports are practically closed and that saying that there are hundreds of thousands of people who go unnoticed is not true.
I was responding to Darren O’Rourke of Sinn Féin, who said the current system of checks and controls at ports and airports has proven to be “completely inadequate.”
Ross also told the Dáil that the government has pledged to continue financing public transportation, amid concerns that services are in dire financial condition due to a plummeting number of passengers.
He said it was “inconceivable” that public transport services would not function as property in the current crisis.
“The government will provide the additional funds necessary to continue those services despite the drop in fee revenues,” he said in the Dáil.
However, he gave no indication of what the cost might be.
Ross said his department will work closely with the National Transportation Authority (NTA) and the Department of Expenditures and Public Reform (DPER) to “assess and quantify this additional funding requirement.”
Fianna Fail’s Marc McSharry said he hoped DPER and the Department of Transportation would quickly come to a conclusion so that there would be a proper cash injection on public transportation.
He said that private operators such as the rural link and taxi drivers would also need support.
Earlier today, the National Union of Buses and Railways said that public transportation cannot function with social distancing if it goes back to the rules prior to Covid-19.
In today’s Dáil, Richard Boyd Barrett of People Before Profit will call for urgent action to address what he claimed was “Bus Éireann’s failure to comply with public health guidelines and government safety protocols in its fleet, to protect bus drivers. “
The TD said that “the bus workers are very concerned and demand action before the return of a significant number of passengers next Monday.”
Boyd Barrett will also highlight, on behalf of taxi drivers, the devastation of his industry that affects 20,000 taxi drivers and will request financial and other support to ensure the health and safety of drivers.
Additional reports: Aisling Kenny, Paul Cunningham and Mary Regan
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