Motorists have been urged to book their National Car Test (NCT) in advance as testing centres struggle to keep up with demand.
The waiting list for an NCT appointment is now more than eight times higher than it was prior to the pandemic.
The roadworthiness test is required to drive a vehicle on the road and is conducted every two years for vehicles aged four to nine years and annually for vehicles older than ten years.
Motorists were granted a deferral of four months for cars registered before August 1, 2016, during the pandemic. However, this is now having a knock-on effect.
Applus+, the company which runs the NCT, said coping with demand for testing this year has been "especially challenging" due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A spokesperson told The Irish Times: "Quarter one each year is the busiest time for the NCT, as the NCT is due on the anniversary of the vehicle's registration date and most people like to purchase new vehicles at the start of the year.
"This year has been especially challenging with the impact of the Covid Omicron variant, which caused significant absenteeism levels for staff and many customer no-shows or late cancellations."
The NCT test centres are said to conduct around 46,000 tests each week.
The spokesperson said there are currently approximately 8,500 people waiting on an appointment. However, compared to the same period in 2019, the figure was less than 1,000.
Despite the high demand for tests, the company reminded motorists that "significant volumes" of appointments are released weekly.
It said the average lead time for an appointment is currently 20 days.
Customers who add themselves to the centre's waiting list, online, or over the phone can expect to receive an appointment within 28 days.
This is up 16 days from 12 days pre-pandemic.
The NCT supplier also said training of new vehicle inspectors is also underway, and it plans to recruit further staff in April.
