NCT delays: Garda and insurers to show leniency to motorists facing long waits

The Garda Síochána and Insurance Ireland have said they will take a “pragmatic and understanding” approach to motorists driving without valid NCT certificates because of long waits for appointments for the mandatory roadworthiness inspection.

Most recently, three days of bookings at the National Car Testing Service centre in Ballymun, in north Dublin, had to be cancelled because of issues accessing the site. One motorist who contacted The Irish Times said the appointment they had made for October had been cancelled for “operational reasons” and that the earliest date now available via the service’s online booking system was for March 2023.

All cars must be tested every two years once they are four years old, and every year once they are 10 years old. According to the Road Safety Authority, on whose behalf the Swiss company Applus operates the NCT service, the current average wait for a test is 25 days. But the RSA admitted that there are challenges.

“This year has been especially challenging for NCTS with the impact of Covid, which caused significant staff absenteeism levels at test centres and in the call centre,” it said in a statement to The Irish Times. “In addition, over the past two years, despite regular recruitment campaigns, NCTS has found it increasingly difficult to recruit sufficient qualified mechanics to meet the demand for national car tests, as they have dealt with testing backlogs generated by testing delays in 2020 and 2021. 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.”

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The RSA said that testing slots were being opened up on the booking system “continually” and that many extra slots become available because of no-shows and cancellations. Equally, those no-shows are creating problems of their own. “There are very high levels of customer no-shows and late cancellations, which is severely impacting the NCTS operations and their ability to offer these appointments to other customers. NCTS asks customers if they know in advance that they will not be able to make their NCT appointment on the day, to let them know as soon as possible, so that those appointments could be offered to those customers on the priority list,” said the RSA. “Every effort is being made to manage the demand at this busy time; recruiting additional vehicle inspectors including seeking to recruit from abroad and the provision of overtime to provide cover for leave and additional shifts for staff.”

The National Car Testing Service added that anybody being offered a test slot into next year can call it on 01-4135992 to be placed on a priority list to receive an earlier appointment.

It is an offence to drive a vehicle on public roads without a valid NCT certificate once the test is due; if you are technically driving illegally while you wait for a test, your insurer may decline to pay any claim you make.

The Garda says it is aware of the current lengthy waits for appointments. “It is a legal requirement for a vehicle over four years of age to have a valid NCT certificate. An Garda Síochána is cognisant of the delays experienced by the Road Safety Authority in the provision of dates for the NCT. 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.”

Insurance Ireland, an industry association, told The Irish Times that its members “will be pragmatic and understanding in their approach to the current delays at the National Car Testing. 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.”