More than 360,000 cars on Ireland's roads have no NCT 

Having been hit with heavy financial penalties for failing to process NCT applications in agreed time frames, Applus says it hopes to hire 50 extra staff. Picture: Denis Minihane 

More than 360,000 cars currently on Irish roads have no NCT certificate.

The operator of the NCT, Applus, has been hit with heavy financial penalties by the Government and the Road Safety Authority (RSA) for failing to meet agreed waiting times for the test and Jack Chambers, the junior minister with responsibility for road safety, is warning that more fines are likely.

According to data seen by the Irish Examiner, there are 366,274 cars without an NCT cert as of October 2. Of these:

• 55,968 vehicles have been tested and failed and require a retest; 
• 186,580 have an NCT test booked; 
• 5,054 are on the NCT priority waiting list;  
• 86,201 have no booking, are not on the priority list and their motor tax is out of date by less than 30 days;  
• 32,741 have a motor tax out of date for more than 30 days. 

Mr Chambers told the Irish Examiner that he expects further financial sanctions against Applus to be introduced.

 "The penalties have been applied by the RSA as per the contract mechanism — those penalties related to the fact that Applus weren’t fulfilling their service level agreement," Mr Chamber said.

"We’re still not at the average waiting time or the agreed contract waiting time, I expect further penalties could be applied if that continues. "

The NCT service capacity has "increased significantly" in recent months, a Department of Transport spokesperson said. However, they noted that the service is continuing to experience delays.

The average wait time for an NCT is currently 20 days — down from a high of 30 days in January.

The department say that work is "ongoing" to bring delays down to the service level agreement between Applus and the RSA of 12 days.

Applus told an Oireachtas hearing in September that it expects to make a €5m loss across 2022-2023 due to attempts it has made to tackle the backlog for the tests.

Applus recruitment drive

Recruitment drives for extra staff across Ireland and Europe have not been as successful as they had hoped — but efforts to source staff in the Phillippines have proved to be somewhat fruitful.

According to the latest figures, Applus currently employs 622 vehicle inspectors, with approximately 50 under recruitment both locally and from the Philippines.

Subject to obtaining the necessary visas and suitable accommodation for overseas recruits, these testers are expected to be fully trained and operational by December, ahead of the seasonal peak demand for NCTs in the first quarter of 2024.