Councillors demand Cork motor tax office reintroduce walk-in appointments

Council chief executive Tim Lucey said the motor tax office is open weekdays from 9.15am to 4pm, although by appointment only. Picture: Larry Cummins.

Councillors in Cork are demanding that the tax office revert to its pre-Covid operations, including walk-in appointments.

It has been confirmed that the motor tax office in Cork will not reinstate the option of walk-in appointments, requiring people to make an appointment in advance.

Several county councillors have pleaded for a U-turn, especially for people who are not computer savvy or live in an area where they have no broadband and therefore are unable to tax their vehicles online.

Independent councillor John Healy won widespread cross-party support from colleagues when he begged officials to reopen the office.

He said a recent survey had shown more than 20% of people over the age of 60 are not internet savvy.

Mr Healy said postal applications can be slow and claimed that when people phone the motor tax office seeking an appointment, they sometimes don’t get an answer at all.

He said there are probably 250,000 vehicles owned by people living in Cork City and county who have to rely on the motor tax office in Model Farm Rd, which is run by the county council.

“If you ring and look for an appointment, you’re told one won’t be available for the next seven working days. The motor tax offices are open in Kerry and Waterford so I can’t see why our one can’t,” said Mr Healy.

“It is a matter of distress for some elderly people. I know of a lot of public representatives who're helping them with online applications,” said Independent councillor Ben Dalton O’Sullivan.

Fine Gael councillor Anthony Barry said there “is still a large cohort of people who can’t do it (online)". 

“There should be some few hours of the week when people should be able just able to walk in and do it,” he said.

“It’s basically the loss of a service,” said Fine Gael councillor Noel McCarthy.

“It’s not asking much. It’s very hard for the elderly,” said Independent councillor Mary Linehan Foley.

Fine Gael councillor Kay Dawson maintained the council is “making people [who can’t do it online] feel inadequate.” 

Fine Gael councillor Michael Creed said he recently spent an hour trying to tax his car online and couldn’t do it.

Council chief executive Tim Lucey said the motor tax office is open weekdays from 9.15am to 4pm, although by appointment only. He maintained a seven-day wait was not unreasonable and good compared to some other public services and in the main, there is a 72-hour turnaround time for the office’s postal applications.

“People can book appointments through the customer call service (021 4544566). I’m satisfied with the service, which is efficient,” said Mr Lucey.

A report given to councillors by Lorraine Lynch, the local authority’s head of finance, said 90% of motor tax transactions are now conducted online.