STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

S.I. No. 56 of 2002

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (VEHICLE TESTING) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2002

Dublin

Published by the Government Supplies Agency

S.I. No. 56 of 2002

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (VEHICLE TESTING)

(AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2002

In exercise of the powers conferred on the Minister for the Environment and Local Government by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 ( No. 27 of 1972 ) which said powers are delegated to me by the Environment and Local Government (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 1997 ( S.I. No. 427 of 1997 ) and for the purposes of giving effect to the provisions of Council Directive 96/96/EC¹ and Commission Directive 1999/52/EC² , I, Robert Molloy, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government hereby make the following Regulations:

1.     (1)   These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Vehicle Testing) (Amendment) Regulations 2002.

(2)   These Regulations, the European Communities (Vehicle Testing) Regulations 1991 to 1996 and the European Communities (Vehicle Testing) (Amendment) Regulations 1999 shall be construed together as one and may be cited collectively as the European Communities (Vehicle Testing) Regulations 1991 to 2002.

(3)   These Regulations shall come into operation on 1 March 2002.

2.   In these Regulations “the Principal Regulations” mean the European Communities (Vehicle Testing) Regulations 1991 ( S.I. No. 356 of 1991 .

3.   The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by -

(a)  the insertion of the following sub-article after sub-article (1):-

“(1A) In carrying out tests for items listed at 8.2 in the Third and Fourth Schedules respectively the equipment used by authorised testers to test the opacity of generated exhaust smoke in diesel vehicles first registered after 1 January 1980 shall be configured and operated in accordance with the procedure specified for such test in Commission Directive 1999/52/EC¹ .”.

(b)  the substitution of “directions” for “recommendations” in sub-article (3) of article 7, and

(c)  the substitution for article 8 of the following article:

“8.   The Minister may from time to time issue directions to issuing authorities and to authorised testers as to the manner in which tests shall be carried out in relation to all or any of the items listed in the schedule specified in column 4 of the First Schedule hereto and in carrying out such tests, authorised testers shall comply with any such directions.”.

Explanatory Note

(This Note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation)

These Regulations transpose Commission Directive 1999/52/EC in relation to the procedure for carrying out smoke opacity tests on diesel goods vehicles liable to compulsory roadworthiness testing and provide for the issue of directions by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government to authorised testers regarding the manner in which tests shall be carried out.

¹ O.J.No.L 46/11 of 17.02.97

² O.J No.L142/26 of 05.06.1999

¹ O.J. No.L142/26 of 05.06.1999