This week, Westmeath drivers caught driving a vehicle without a valid NCT certificate will be subject to a fixed-charge penalty notice of three points, up from two, and a fine.
With the pressure mounting on NCT centres throughout the country, it has led to local concerns that drivers awaiting a test in the new year ‘will be done’ by Gardaí over the Christmas.
Topic contacted Mullingar NCT centre this week by phone to be told there is a four-week waiting time for a test. However, if your NCT is out, then they told us you will be added to “a priority list” to ensure you are not driving around with an out-of-date NCT disc, which may cause you to pick up points and a fine.
If stopped by the Gardaí, offenders can choose to accept a fine and points on the spot, or take the case to court, where they may be subject to a heavier penalty of five points. You can also book your NCT online, but waiting times are substantial. The organisation is now telling you to pick up the phone.
“The website is no indication of the available slots out there either. That’s why we’re saying to people to phone us so we can put them on the priority list in order to get an appointment within two weeks,” said the spokesperson, who confirmed that the national average waiting time is two weeks.
The spokesperson added that although the announcement of revised punishments for driving without a valid certificate has led to a surge in demand for appointments, the testing service would “generally be recruiting at this time of year anyway” and have not hired more staff solely in anticipation of the changes.
EXTENSION
In Mullingar the test centre is currently undergoing a refurbishment as part of an overall extesion which will see it grow by almost 50% in size. As per planning permission granted in December 2013, an extra testing lane and an extension is currently being built. It is hoped it will be open before Christmas to cope with the additional demand.
Welcoming the latest penalty points announcements, AA Ireland director of policy, Conor Faughnan has said that there is “no excuse” for a lengthy delay in receiving an NCT.
“There is no excuse for a protracted delay for getting the NCT done, so we would encourage people to get on and comply as soon as they can,” he said.
“It’s a legal requirement. You’re not allowed drive a car around if it has an NCT cert that isn’t fit. The law hasn’t changed in that regard; the only thing that’s changed is the punishment,” he added.
The news comes as Fianna Fáil spokesman on transport, Timmy Dooley, condemned Minister for Transport, Paschal Donohue for introducing such changes without first addressing the NCT backlog. He said the Minister confirmed on Monday that motorists driving without an NCT cert will be fined and given penalty points, even if they have booked an appointment.
According to statistics released from the Central Statistics Office earlier this week, 53 per cent of cars that applied for an NCT failed, although 94 per cent gained certification after subsequent attempts. The Gardaí issued 1,877 penalty-point notices to people driving without valid NCT certification last year.
