The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has said “logic must continue to prevail” and that a National Car Testing (NCT)-style test for tractors should not go ahead.
Dermot Kelleher, the association’s president, said the issue was “settled in 2018” when, after stakeholder engagement, it was decided that only tractors with a maximum design speed exceeding 40kph which are being used for non-agricultural activities would require a roadworthiness test.
“This was the right decision then, it is still the right decision now, and we see no justification for that agreement to be cast aside,” Kelleher said.
He was speaking after a meeting of the ICSA’s national executive in Portlaoise, Co. Laois yesterday (Thursday, October 26), where the proposals from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to carry NCT-style testing on all tractors were discussed.
“Members of our national executive agree that tractors with a maximum speed in excess of 40kph need to be tested regularly. However, there was unanimous opposition to imposing an NCT-style test on slow moving tractors,” Kelleher said.
The ICSA president added: “We are clear in our position that NCTs should not apply to tractors used for the purpose of farming or agricultural contracting.”
According to Kelleher, there are no grounds “for saddling farmers with additional bureaucracy and cost that would inevitably be associated with blanket testing of all farmers”.
“Tractors are an essential part of any farming enterprise and out of necessity great care is taken to ensure they are kept in proper working order.
“We also know that farmers are already being crushed by the weight of existing bureaucracy, yet it seems that every agency is looking to pile on even more bureaucracy – whether it is needed or not,” he added.
“In the absence of any clear evidence that NCT-style testing on all tractors would make any difference to our national road safety statistics, the ICSA will stand firm in opposing any such move,” Kelleher said.
The issue has also caused concern for the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), whose Farm Family and Social Affairs Committee chairperson, Alice Doyle, said earlier this month that farmers must have input into any decision made.
Doyle said that while the IFA “supports any motion that is going to save lives”, all stakeholders, including farmers, need an input in the decision-making.
“Certainly if it is going to save lives then we are in favour, but it needs to be able to prove that, because I see every single day that farmers are stressed to the breaking point financially, physically and mentally,” she said.