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”.