NCT 'havoc' with 29 week waiting list in Portlaoise

It’s been claimed the National Car Test system is ‘causing havoc’ with Portlaoise drivers waiting 29 weeks. 

Laois TD Brian Stanley is calling on the Minister for Transport to carry out a review into the National Car Test (NCT) system as the long delays that people are experiencing are “causing havoc” across the country. 

“Figures for Laois and Offaly show a 29 plus week wait for those applying for their NCT in Portlaoise and more than 25 weeks in Tullamore. These timelines were given by NCT booking service,” said Deputy Stanley.  

“The system is under real stress and consideration needs to be given to extending the time between tests by allowing the test time to run from when the car is tested rather than from when it falls due. At present many cars are only a few months in test when the next test becomes due because of the long delays in getting a test.”

“Once a car is tested, the NCT certificate should be valid for the full 12 months or 24 months in the case of newer cars,” he said. 

“The NCT system was introduced to conform with an EU directive that sought to set standards of road worthiness and control emissions right across all EU member states."

“When a new car reaches four years old it has its first test and then every two years until its tenth birthday, after which it is an annual test. Pandemic restrictions meant that all these tests were postponed which caused a long backlog,” Deputy Stanley explained.   

“We also have the additional issue where there has been a notable increase in the number of older cars being kept on the road as second-hand cars are scarce and have become more expensive,” he said. 

“As the system struggles to catch up, there are now delays of six to seven months to get an NCT here in Laois and Offaly.”

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 “Sinn Féin has proposed that the Minister should consider changing the testing time criteria from the same month every year, to a year from when the test is completed.  Consideration must also be given to temporarily allowing an extra year before new cars would be required to have the first NCT. This would mean a vehicle getting tested for the first time at five years instead of four years at present,” said Deputy Stanley.

He claimed such a move would go some way to reducing the waiting time faced by Laois motorists. 

“The additional staffing at NCT centres and longer operating hours are welcome and will help, but the backlog is being compounded by more older cars falling due faster. An intervention in the system will be required to get waiting times under control, and Sinn Féin is proposing these solutions,” he said.