Tens of thousands of extra MOT test appointments are to be offered to motorists to tackle a hefty backlog, the Department for Infrastructure has confirmed.
Motorists from Northern Ireland have been facing long delays while arranging a test, with some unable to book an appointment until after their MOT had expired .
In June the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) introduced a number of measures in June to reduce wait times, with appointments offered on Sundays at centres across Northern Ireland.
Now the Department for Infrastructure has confirmed a further 9,000 appointments will be made available in August on Sundays and bank holidays.
There will also be 1,000 extra tests per day from September following the recruitment of 30 new vehicle examiners.
However, a spokesperson for the department added that appointment no-shows continued to be a challenge.
The spokesperson said: “We continue to have a significant number of customers failing to attend for their MOT test and we therefore encourage customers to either attend their pre-booked appointments or cancel them to allow others to make use of the appointment."
A spokesperson said short notice appointments will be released on a daily basis as testing facilities receive cancellations.
Plans are also in place to limit disruption during planned strikes on Friday July 26.
A spokesperson said: “In relation to planned industrial action on Friday, we are doing all that we can to ensure that test centres will open as normal and disruption to our customers minimised.
"Our advice is that customers with appointments should attend as scheduled. We do have measures in place to lessen any impacts and will be monitoring the situation very closely and if things change, we will contact customers with further advice.”
To book, cancel or change dates, visit www.nidirect.gov.uk/mot-change or call 0345 247 2471.
You will need the booking reference number, vehicle registration number and last 4 digits of the chassis number, which will appear on your appointment letter.
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