Senator Sharon Keogan has called on the Minister for Transport to appear before the Seanad over claims that staff recruited from the Philippines to work at NCT centres have been allowed to drive test vehicles in public, illegally, on learner permits.
In January 2023, it was reported by the Irish Independent that the National Car Test (NCT) was recruiting staff from the Philippines in an attempt to relieve a backlog spanning over six months in some parts of the country. In 2021, the then Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton and the Road Safety Authority (RSA) facilitated Applus+, the company which operates the NCT, in hiring Filipino staff at NCT centres.
Senator Sharon Keogan said on Wednesday that this was done by “lowering the educational requirement from QQI level 6 to level 5 and increasing the number of work permits for non-EEA citizens.”
The newspaper reported that the vehicle inspection company had drafted in 44 testers from the Philippines, who will be assigned to test centres with the longest delays.
Applus+, the company that has the contract to run the NCT, said at the time that every effort was being made to manage demand, including recruitment of additional inspectors.
A spokesman for the Spanish company said: “These include additional capacity at test centres, including increased staff overtime, ongoing local vehicle inspector recruitment, the temporary transfer of 20 testers from the NCTS contractor’s Spanish operation for a period of three months, and recruiting from outside the EU.
“Forty four testers from the Philippines completed training before Christmas and will be assigned to the centres with the most significant delays.”
Now, Senator Sharon Keogan has claimed that the number of Filipino staff has reportedly risen from 44 in 2023 to more than 150, with management having been described as “flying regularly to Manila to recruit batches of eight to ten staff.” The Independent Senator claims that there has been an “alleged disregard for safety standards.” She told the Seanad that the information was shared by a source within the motor industry.
“What is fully and truly concerning is the alleged disregard for safety standards. According to the source, Applus+ allows Filipino staff to drive test vehicles in public, illegally, on learner permits without qualified drivers present. In one case, a staffer reportedly failed the driving test numerous times. Some reportedly had no licence in their first months of work. Some drove unaccompanied on learner permits and, even after passing their test, do not display N-plates,” the Senator said.
She continued: “The company has been described as operating on a wing and a prayer. Several Filipino testers have allegedly been involved in accidents. This puts Irish customers at serious risk. The extent of this problem is now so great there is no guarantee that an NCT customer will have a fully licensed driver driving their vehicle, which will leave the customer liable to fines and legal action if anything goes wrong.
“It is outrageous that a Spanish company on a Government contract is permitted to flout safety rules that Irish citizens are held strictly to, lowering standards and outsourcing jobs across the globe, while more than 100,000 young people leave for Australia. All this appears to be done in pursuit of maximising profits. I call on the Minister for Transport to appear before this Chamber to account for these revelations.”
Applus+ have been contacted for comment on the claims.