FERMANAGH motorists are waiting for up to 61 days to book an MOT appointed as new figures reveal that the Enniskillen test centre has the fourth longest waiting list in the North.
It comes after it was revealed that waiting lists for MOTs at the 15 Drive and Vehicle and Agency test centres in the North exceed a month, with Fermanagh drivers facing an excess of 61 days.
Local MOT waiting times has been widely reported with the Northern Ireland Infrastructure Minister, John O’Dowd, confirming that new measures would be implemented to cut the backlog.
The Driver Vehicle Agency said it’s “on target to improve the average” MOT waiting times overall.
“The introduction of temporary exemption certificates from June 1 for five and seven-year-old cars in specified date ranges is also having a positive impact on MOT waiting times,” they said.
“The DVA [Driver Vehicle Agency] is currently on target to improve the average MOT waiting time for private cars to six weeks or less by March 31 2025.”
Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA, Deborah Erskine, is chairwoman of the Northern Ireland Infrastructure Committee. She’s previously called for urgent action to be taken locally.
“It is not acceptable that people in Fermanagh and South Tyrone have to travel further to access an appointment or indeed that the ease of access to appointments has been hampered due to the sheer volume of people trying to access a slot,” Ms Erskine said.
“Our test centres are working seven days a week and I pay tribute to the staff working in the centres.
“There are a number of problems however facing the testing system – the simple one to deal with is if you have booked an appointment, make sure you turn up.
“In 2022-23 over 50,000 people failed to turn up for a booked appointment slot which adds pressure to the system,” added the Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA.
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