Minister Ross Guilty of Reneging on Tractor Test Commitment

IFA President Joe Healy has said the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross has reneged on a written commitment to IFA that the Road Safety Authority (RSA) would engage with key stakeholders before any regulations on an NCT type test for tractors would be put in place.

Mr Healy said IFA had written to Minister Ross in March raising farmers’ concerns on the issue. The Minister’s reply gave a clear commitment that “ahead of the drafting of any national Regulations” the RSA would “engage with key stakeholders affected”.

“This did not happen and Minister Ross proceeded to sign the relevant Statutory Instrument into law last month without any consultation,” said Joe Healy.

In his letter of reply to IFA last March, Minister Ross also clarified that the testing requirement would not apply to tractors with a design speed of 40km/h or less. However, there are other aspects of the SI that are excessive, unnecessary and go further than the requirements of the EU Directive.

IFA has sought an urgent meeting to ensure changes are made to the Statutory Instrument.