Almost 8% of all vehicles which have been submitted for an NCT in the first half of 2026, were classified as dangerously defective, according to recent figures.
The NCT, is a compulsory inspection programme for all cars over four years old. It checks over 50 different items, including lights, brakes, tyres, steering, emissions and bodywork along with windscreen wipers and seat belts.
Between January and June this year, 7.7% of the cars deemed unsafe for public roads were tested at the network of 50 NCT centres around Ireland. This sees an increase from 7.6% in 2025, and 7.3% in 2024.
According to the latest data in a report submitted by The Irish Independent, one in every 13 vehicles being assesed by NCT testers this year had received a "fail dangerous" grade. This has continued to grow annually since 2020, which saw a low of 4.9%.
It was also found by the Road Safety Authority that 21% of vehicles involved in road deaths between 2016 and 2020 had at least one defect recorded by a collision investigator, with 13% of these cars having defective tyres.
More than 2,200 vehicles also remained dangerously defective even when they were resubmitted for further NCT checks in the first half of this year.
The classification of "fail dangerous" is applied to any vehicle which is regarded as having a dangerous defect that “constitutes a direct or immediate risk to road safety such that the vehicle should not be used on the road under any circumstances” (quotes according to The Irish Independent).
Cars who fall into this category will have a sticker stating their condition which is handed down by an NCT vehicle inspector, with motorists advised to have their vehicles towed away.
On the counties themselves, Clare was found to have the highest "fail dangerous" with 9.6%, Meath being in second place at 9.2%, with Navan having the highest of any location in the county, with 9.8%.
Elsewhere, only two counties fell below the 7% "fail dangerous" level, Wicklow with 6.7% and Tipperary of 6.9%. It was also reported that the NCT centre in Deansgrange in Dublin had the lowest "fail dangerous" level of any location with 5.8%.
Deansgrange also had the highest overall pass rate of any location in the Republic at 58.1%, above the average pass rate of five NCT centres in Dublin which stood at 52.4%.
Cavan and Clare both recorded the lowest past rates at 42.9%, which was followed by Carlow and Mayo at 44.7 and 44.9 per cent respectively.
Speaking about these figures, a spokesperson for the RSA said that it is an offence to drive a vehicle with dangerous defects on public roads.
“Vehicle owners need to embrace year-round responsibility for maintaining their cars, rather than relying on the NCT to identify faults", he said, before adding that surveys have continued to highlight “the disappointing culture of vehicle owners using the NCT as a diagnostic tool” (all quotes according to the Irish Independent).
He went on to add that these trend has contributed to inefficiencies as well as the risks to road safety.
The RSA also mentioned details of a vehicle's NCT results are shared with the National Vehicle and Driver File database, which can be used by Gardaí to prosecute motorists.
