James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Putting this problem into perspective is important. I will give the witnesses an indication of it. I am from Cork East, which is a large area. I will take us through the NCT centres that people in my constituency use. My home town is Youghal, where the next available NCT appointment is 4 April. In Charleville, which is in Cork North-West, it is 22 March. In Waterford, it is 9 February. In Blarney, it is 3 February. In Cahir, it is 10 March. In Little Island, the earliest available date is 22 January. At a minimum, someone would be waiting the bones of three and a half months for an NCT.

Mr. Waide spoke about the unforeseen. This is all done digitally. Regardless of Covid's knock-on consequences, will Mr. Waide provide a legitimate answer for why this has been allowed to occur? It did not happen overnight and it seems to be a growing problem. I do not know what the answer will be in the short term, but something will have to be done. Will Mr. Waide comment on Cork's centres specifically? There is one centre in Cahir in Tipperary as well.