MoT: 72-day wait for test in NI is new normal, DVA boss says

6 March

Image caption,
MoT centres carry out tests across Northern Ireland

Motorists in Northern Ireland face an average wait of 72 days for an MoT test, it has been revealed.

Chief executive of the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA), Jeremy Logan, told the BBC's Evening Extra programme this length of wait was the new normal.

He said that there was no longer a backlog "directly related to Covid or previous lift issues".

It comes as many drivers in Northern Ireland continue to face long waits for a test.

When did MoT delays begin?

Delays to MoTs began in late 2019 when cracks were found in vehicle lifts across Northern Ireland's MoT centres.

A report later found cracking in 48 out of 55 lifts.

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland in 2020 caused a further backlog.

Why is there a backlog of MoT tests in Northern Ireland?

Mr Logan said "changed customer behaviour" was responsible for the pressure on the system.

"The reality is that people are holding onto their cars for longer," he said, adding that there were also more cars on the road than ever before.

Mr Logan said the DVA was "working very hard to increase testing capacity".

"We have taken measures including the recruiting of new vehicle examiners and we are essentially open seven days a week to meet the demand for testing," he said.

A new test centre at Hydebank was due to open in 2022

Are there plans for new MoT centres?

In February, BBC News NI revealed further delays to the opening of two new test centres.

A centre at Hydebank, in south Belfast, due to open in 2022, is now scheduled to open later in 2024, while a new test centre at Mallusk, in County Antrim, scheduled to open in 2024, is now planned for 2025.

The DVA said that the two new centres will provide the capacity to test more than 200,000 additional vehicles per year.

Is there an issue with the equipment?

On Monday, Democratic Unionist Party assembly member Deborah Erskine, chairwoman of of the assembly's Infrastructure Committee, said new hairline cracks had been found in several vehicle test lifts.

The Department for Infrastructure said all lifts remained in service and that MoT appointments had not been affected.

Mr Logan said the lifts had been "in fairly significant service" and "like any mechanical equipment they are required to be maintained and serviced".