Gardaí to consider evidence of test date if found driving without valid NCT

The Road Safety Authority said the overall average booking lead time for an NCT last week was just over 23 days.

A struggle to recruit staff, a dearth of new car sales, and the Covid-19 hangover is to blame for delays in NCT testing  — with up to six-month online waits still for some centres across the country.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) said that over the past two years, despite regular recruitment campaigns, the National Car Testing Service (NCTS) “has found it increasingly difficult to recruit sufficient qualified mechanics to meet the demand”.

A garda spokesperson added the force is “cognisant of the delays” experienced by the RSA.

Gardaí have said if a motorist is detected driving a vehicle without a valid NCT cert and can provide proof of a scheduled test date, a garda "will take this evidence into consideration".

A cursory glance at the NCTS website to make a booking for a test as of Wednesday shows the earliest appointment that can be made online for centres like Blarney in Cork is late December, while it is January for Youghal.

Macroom is early January, but Charleville had a number of slots in August as of Wednesday afternoon, while Skibbereen is mid-October. Little Island’s earliest online booking is late December, while it was mid-October on Tuesday afternoon.

In Kerry, the earliest online booking for Caherciveen is in late November, Tralee is in early November, and Killarney is in early December.

Customers could be confused by repeatedly refreshing the website, with slots suddenly opening up minute-by-minute for various centres in the coming weeks, including those currently listed as having long waiting times, before they disappear again shortly afterwards.

This is indicative of high demand and cancellations opening up slots, industry figures say.

The RSA said: “NCT test appointment slots are released continually across all centres. Many slots also become available through cancellations or rescheduling of appointments. Some customers may only find dates that are beyond the due date for their NCT.

“If a customer requires an appointment sooner than those available online, they should contact NCTS directly on [phone] or place themselves on the priority list online.” 

It claimed that the vast majority of customers on the priority list get an appointment at their preferred test centre within four to five weeks. “Customers can’t find all this information on the website,” it admitted.

The overall average booking lead time for an NCT last week was just over 23 days, it said.

Echoing the problems affecting the likes of Dublin Airport, the RSA said that recruitment was becoming increasingly difficult post-Covid.

The NCTS has dealt with testing backlogs generated by testing delays in 2020 and 2021, due to the outbreak of Covid-19 and related restrictions, it said.

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“This has been exacerbated by the related impact on the wider motor industry with regard to new car availability, leading to an increase in the number of older vehicles in the fleet requiring NCTs,” the RSA added.

Gardaí have told the Irish Examiner: “Where a motorist is detected driving a vehicle without a valid NCT certificate and no date of re-examination can be produced in evidence by the driver, the driver may be prosecuted for not having a valid NCT certificate and they are liable to have their vehicle seized.

“Where a vehicle is detected without a valid NCT certificate and the driver is able to produce evidence of a date for a test having been scheduled, a garda will take this evidence into consideration,” he said.

A spokesperson for the representative body Insurance Ireland said its members will be "pragmatic and understanding in their approach" to the current delays at the NCTS. 

"Cover will continue to be provided where customers, through no fault of their own, are unable to obtain their NCT due to backlogs at test centres. Motor insurance and road traffic legislation require that motorists maintain their vehicles in a roadworthy condition at all times and this remains the case. 

"Under the current circumstances, provided motorists make every effort to book appointments in the normal way, insurance companies will recognise that the current issue is not the fault of the customer.”