The National Car Test delays have been described by Minister of State Jack Chambers as ‘unacceptable’ and ‘a complete failure’, with motorists facing an average wait of 30 days.
And this despite an agreement between the RSA and the service provider Applus, which provides for an average waiting time of 12 days until the summer.
“The average wait time is 30 days,” said Mr Chambers, who is Minister of State with special responsibility for International and Road Transport and Logistics, reports RTE.
“Now I know when people log on to the website, they could see an appointment many months [away], but that’s because of another issue with the website which Applus needs to address,” Mr Chambers added, reports RTE.
Mr Chambers slammed Applus, saying they are “need to pay serious penalties for this dysfunction and the non-performance of their contract”.
Chambers said motorists who are due for testing in the coming weeks should be placed on the priority waiting list, where most people will be seen within 28 days.
To date, over 4,000 people have received free tests, however, these NCT certificates are from when they first registered for a test.
This has raised concerns among motorists who, in some cases, will have to return for another test in less than 12 months.
The minister pointed out that this cannot be changed as this is an EU directive and the 12 month period begins when a vehicle is registered.
“The solution here is to drive the capacity so that there is a much better waiting time for motorists,” Mr Chambers said, reports RTE.
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