Pass rate at Mullingar NCT centre higher than national average

The pass rate at the NCT centre in Mullingar is significantly higher than at its counterpart in Athlone.

That’s according to newly released figures for 2024, which reveal that the pass rate in Mullingar is 53.47%, while the pass rate at the Athlone centre is only 41.02%.

In total, 28,367 tests were carried out at the NCT centre in Mullingar last year, with 15,168 (53.47%) vehicles passing. Of the 14,199 failed tests, 3,186 (7.71%) were categorised as dangerous fails, which occur when a dangerous defect poses a “direct or immediate risk to road safety”.

In Athlone, 27,737 tests were conducted in 2024, with a fail rate of 59%—the second-highest in the country after Cavan (61%).

The highest pass rate in the country was recorded at the Deansgrange test centre in Dublin (60.28%), followed by Ballinasloe (57.93%) and Tullamore (57.35%).

Nationally, over 1.73 million tests were carried out last year, with a pass rate of just over 50%. The top three reasons for failures were steering and suspension (15%), lighting and electrical (14.2%), and the side slip test (12.3%).

Speaking on Newstalk, transport consultant Conor Faughnan said that unprepared drivers are responsible for the high failure rate across the country.

“On the face of it, it looks dreadful, but in fact, almost all of these cars pass on a re-test,” he said.

“If you look at when those cars came back to re-test for the NCT, if they need a full lane to do it, it’s about a 90% pass rate.

“If it’s just a visual re-check, then it’s over a 99% pass rate.”

Mr Faughnan noted that many motorists “don’t bother” preparing their vehicles for the NCT. He added that this is “hugely wasteful of the NCT network’s capacity”.

“It’s absolutely a backward attitude towards vehicle maintenance,” he said.

“You’re supposed to maintain the car properly rather than just prep for a test every couple of years.

“For the ordinary punter, the most convenient thing to do is don’t bother prepping for the NCT—just let the car go through it.

“If it passes, great; if it doesn’t, they’ll tell you why.”