Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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267. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if, given the NCT waiting lists can be up to five months, he will consider extending all of this year’s NCT tests to include a full year’s coverage (details supplied). [16776/23]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Under European Directive 2014/45/EU on periodic roadworthiness testing, Ireland, like all Member States, must comply with the minimum specified intervals for carrying out such inspections. This is given effect in Irish law by the Road Traffic (National Car Test) Regulations 2017 (SI 415/2017), as amended.

Regulation 3(2) of the 2017 Regulations provides that the initial test due date for a vehicle is determined by its registration date and subsequent test due dates fall on anniversaries of the registration date. Any certificate issued for that vehicle will be valid up to the test due date after the certificate is issued, not 12 months, or 24 months as relevant, from the date of testing.

Member States cannot unilaterally postpone test due dates without a derogation from the EU Commission. The only time a derogation has been granted to EU States was under Regulation (EU) 2020/698, in direct response to the Covid crisis in 2020, when test centres were closed to prevent the spread of the virus. 

Permitting NCT certificates to be extended without inspections would place the State in breach of our obligations under EU law and may affect road safety, should the vehicle in question be unsafe to drive. 

I am advised that customers seeking test appointments may contact the NCTS directly, by calling 01-4135992, or may avail of the priority waiting list function via the NCT website, www.ncts.ie. In the majority of cases, vehicle owners on the priority waiting list are provided with an appointment within 30 days.