Mr. Ray O'Leary:

We have not been made aware of general nationwide backlogs. There tend to be challenges at certain times of the year, given that with the move towards twice yearly registration plates, there tend to be surges in the number of registrations in January and July. Moreover, with Covid precautions, while the NCT service is generally operating and has operated well within the system, it has been subject to some constraints on throughput and managing people coming and going. There may be some local issues, therefore, in individual parts of the country but we are not aware of a general issue of significant backlogs at NCT centres. There tends to be a challenge in July because many cars' registration dates are in that month. If a person tries to get in early in July, he or she may be knocked back because so many people will have booked for June and July. It is a combination of the seasonal surge and perhaps some local bottlenecks. We can follow it up with the Road Safety Authority, which, through Applus+, is responsible for the service and has the contract for its operation. We can find out more information and revert to the Senator.