MoT: Plan to test diesel car emissions - court told

A Stormont department has "concrete plans" to address a failure to test diesel cars for potentially dangerous emissions, a court has heard.

Judgement was reserved in the judicial review action taken by Friends of the Earth NI with the Public Interest Litigation Support Project (PILS).

The NI Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) was also granted leave to intervene in the case.

The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) accepted it breached test obligations.

A BBC Spotlight investigation found the vehicle tests had not been carried out since 2006.

A barrister for the DfI told the judicial review hearing in Belfast that it was investigating the latest technology for emissions testing, including "particulate number testing", which was better suited to newer cars.

The DfI plans - which are to be introduced in a "workable but reasonable timeframe" - include operating the smoke test for older cars while using the newer one for more modern cars.

The court was told the number of cars getting an MoT test each year had increased from 700,000 in 2006 to 1.2m in 2023 and that immediate reintroduction of the diesel smoke test would make it impossible to meet current demand.

Two new MOT test centres expected to have testing capability were due to open in 2023, but they have been delayed.

In the first hearing in September 2023, a lawyer for the applicants told the court that the alleged failure of the DfI to test diesel cars not only breached its obligations but also its duties to protect public health, biodiversity and wildlife habitats.

The tests are legally required, but a BBC Spotlight investigation in 2018 found they had not been carried out for more than a decade.

At that time, in response to concerns about emissions testing, the Driver and Vehicle Agency, which falls under the DfI, said staff did "a visual test" where they made a "personal judgement" about a car's emissions.

This is one of the first cases to rely on the Climate Change Act 2022 in court.

Mr Justice Colton said he would deliver judgement as quickly as possible.