NCT Penalty Point Farce

Sinn Féin's Local Election Candidate in East Meath Sinéad Burke has labelled the introduction of five penalty points for driving a vehicle without a valid NCT from May 1st a 'farce', as the company's system hasn't the capacity to deal with the increased demand from people requesting bookings. She said, "I've been contacted by at least one hundred people in east Meath over the last week who say they have been trying the NCT booking number 1890 412 413 since the recent announcement of the new penalty points, but to no avail. The only time you can actually get a dial tone is out of office hours, according to one person. The company's website www.nct.ie is down too. "I don't see how the government can enforce these new penalty points from May 1st given the fact that some people may actually find it impossible to be compliant. This is yet another example of government blundering, where a lack of joined-up thinking, preparation and planning - a major feature of their tenure - has exposed them as incompetent. The similarities with last year's Provisional Licence debacle are obvious. This government seems incapable of learning from it's mistakes."