The directors of the firm operating the National Car Test (NCT) contract “strongly refute” proposed non-compliance penalties by the Road Safety Authority on the firm.
That is according to new accounts for Applus Inspection Services Ireland Ltd which show that the firm last year recorded a pre-tax loss of €981,010 .
This comes after a pre-tax profit of €1.099million in 2021 – a negative swing of €2.08million.
Read More: Certain drivers can get free NCT with special rule amid massive backlog
The operation of the contract has been a source of controversy with Junior Transport Minister Jack Chambers last week saying that delays for motorists in getting mandatory NCT are “absolutely unacceptable”.
The Fianna Fail TD said: “I think Applus need to pay serious penalties for this dysfunction and the non-performance of their contract.”
In their report, the directors state that they “acknowledge that the RSA has proposed penalties for non-compliance of contractual Service Level Agreement achievement”.
They add that “given the negative impact that Covid-19 has had on the service in 2022 and continue to have, we strongly refute these penalty claims as being valid”.
They add that “we continue to work closely and constructively with the authority to address the underlying issues that the service is experiencing as a result of the pandemic”
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