24-hour testing among changes introduced to accelerate NCT

Changes to NCT test centres, including some 24-hour testing, are being rolled out to combat “unprecedented” demand for appointments following changes to the penalty point system last year.

Additional test lanes and longer opening hours in selected centres as well as the recruitment of extra inspectors also form part of a strategy to marry growing public compliancy with capacity.

Addressing the Seanad on Tuesday, Minster for Transport Paschal Donohoe outlined the plans which he said had emerged as a consequence of increasing numbers of people seeking an NCT after he altered the penalty points system.

Since December, motorists caught driving without a valid certificate are subject to a fixed-charge penalty notice of three points and a fine. Previously, the offence could attract a court summons and five penalty points.

Mr Donohoe said there had been an immediate impact with a 100 per cent increase in “on-time compliancy” rates on this time last year.

However, he added: “It has been an offence to drive a car without an NCT since 2009 and changes I introduced in December simply brought his offence within the fixed charge notice system.”

The 24-hour testing began in Dublin on Monday, and will run for four nights a week, shared between North Point and Deansgrange test centres. It also began at Little Island in Cork on Tuesday.

Additional inspection lanes for cars will be provided in Blarney, Naas, Mullingar and Portlaoise. Opening hours will be increased at Galway, Ballina, Enniscorthy and Killarney, which will operated from 7am to 11.30pm four days a week. Other centres too will see an additional early or late opening day.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) estimates that over 200,000 vehicles have an out-of-date NCT at any given time, from an overall national fleet of 1.9 million.

Other measures, including advance booking of up to 90 days before due inspection dates, were introduced to lubricate the backlog of waiting customers. However, the RSA conceded there had been difficulty with online booking where a perceived lack of available slots led to incorrect assumptions about the nature of waiting lists generally, often rising to three months.