Many Irish motorists trying to book their NCT online are facing wait times of six months or more.
As the backlog builds up, some test centres are even offering August as the earliest date available for a test.
So just how difficult is it to book an NCT appointment online?
READ MORE: The key trick that will get you an NCT appointment fast as people hit out at lengthy six month waits
The Irish Mirror checked the availability of five different test centres to see what the earliest date we could get a test.
Here’s the next available dates for online NCT bookings we were given for test centres in Dublin:
Fonthill - 2nd August 2023
Deansgrange - 3rd August 2023
Greenhills, Exit 11, M50 - 10th June 2023
Northpoint 1, Exit 4, M50 - 9th Aug 2023
Northpoint 2, Exit 4, M50 - 8th June 2023
The results left us shocked as the earliest date we could book online for an NCT check is six months away, in June.
On the booking website, the NCT service advised that some customers may only see appointments for mid-2023 as they only post around one-third of the appointments online.
The website states that the remaining two-thirds of appointments would open up two weeks ahead when they finalise staff schedules for the week.
The last time a lengthy backlog was met by drivers Applus+, the company which runs the NCT service, advised that people should be able to get ahead of the queue if they ring instead of using the online booking service.
A spokesperson for Applus+ said: "NCTS are experiencing high demand at present, however, test appointment slots for the next number of weeks are being released continually across all NCT centres, and many slots become available through cancellations or rescheduling of appointments.
"Some customers who go online may only see appointments for mid-2023, however, if they require an earlier appointment than those available online, we are asking them to go online and place themselves on the priority list. The option to add your vehicle to the Priority list can be found during the booking process. The vast majority of customers who use the priority list receive an appointment within 4 weeks.
"You can find a full breakdown of the booking lead time for each test centre on the following link.
"Every effort is being made to manage the demand at this busy time, including the recruitment of additional vehicle inspectors and the provision of overtime to provide cover for leave and additional shifts for staff."
Applus+ also said that NCTS has recruited over 70 inspectors and 50 Vehicle Inspectors in 2022 to help deal with the demand for appointments which has been caused by the impact of Covid and the "natural attrition of staff in the service".
They said they are also exploring other avenues to help manage this demand, which they hope to launch in early 2023.
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