Cork County Council’s call for all cars to be issued with two year NCT certificates will mean “more cars unroadworthy on our roads”, a motoring journalist has said. 

Cllr John Healy put forward the motion after receiving complaints from the constituents about long delays when booking their NCT tests. 

Currently, cars older than 10 years of age must receive an NCT annually - a requirement Cllr Healy believes should be extended to every two years. 

“We have numerous calls from the public who can’t get their NCT done for a number of months,” he told Newstalk Breakfast. 

“There’s a waiting list.. going into five or six months time and that was the reason for the call.” 

A motorway. Photo: Marcel Kusch/dpa

Cars undergo NCT tests to ensure they are safe to drive and Motoring Editor with the Sunday Independent Geraldine Herbert said the policy would make Ireland’s roads more dangerous. 

“The only cars we test annually are 10 years or older,” she said. 

“We know from the research that the older a car is, the more likely it is to fail the NCT and that’s why we bring them back annually. 

“The other point is that nearly half of cars tested anyway by the NCT fail, so people use it as a diagnostic tool. 

“They then go to their mechanic and say, ‘Will you just do the bare minimum to make me pass.’ 

“If we remove that legal requirement we’re just going to end up with more cars unroadworthy on our roads.” 

Cllr Healy said he did “not agree at all [that] a 10-year-old car needs more attention than a five-year-old car” and that even people on the priority list were experiencing long delays.  

The COVID-19 pandemic created a “massive backlog” as test centres shut and mechanics fell ill with the virus.

Main image: Man with broken down car along motorway. Picture by: Alamy.com