No MOT appointments in Northern Ireland until November

Three-month wait prompts calls for the return of the Temporary Exemption Certificate

No MOT appointments in Northern Ireland until November
Photo: UUP

The current three-month waiting time for an MOT in Northern Ireland has led to calls for the reintroduction of a Temporary Exemption Certificate, which was last used during the pandemic.

This comes as motorists are being told that the next available date is currently November 2023.

John Stewart, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) infrastructure spokesperson, said: “The MOT backlog has been no surprise to anyone.

”We have been facing these issues since January 2020 after inspections of lift faults in 48 out of 55 test centres discovered a lack of ‘sufficient assurance’ on the effectiveness of ongoing repairs. This was followed by the closure of MOT centres during the Covid-19 pandemic.

”From January 2019 to January 2020, just under one million tests were carried out across Northern Ireland, but fewer than 200,000 tests were carried out the following year. A backlog was expected during this timeframe, but despite a record 506,000 tests carried out between September 2022 and February 2023, there are still extensive delays in MOT inspections.

”Ulster Unionists call for a Temporary Exemption Certificate, which has been used at the height of the pandemic, to be reused again to allow backlogs to be cleared and fines to be appealed.”

In response, roads policing superintendent Gary Busch said: “DVA (Driver & Vehicle Agency) will make every effort to secure a MOT test date for any motorist whose MOT is due to expire.

“In the event police encounter a vehicle with no current MOT, so long as we can ascertain that a vehicle is roadworthy, has a forthcoming MOT test date and is not SORNED, then police will not take any further action. Every driver has a responsibility to ensure their vehicle is roadworthy.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Infrastructure told Belfast News Letter, the DVA is now exceeding pre-pandemic MOT test levels, conducting more than 1.15m tests in 2022/23, a 25 percent increase from 2021-22. It’s also the highest number ever recorded in a year.

Source: Belfast News Letter

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