News
NCT delays set to continue

By John Healy of Healy Insurances
With some NCT test centres booked up to March 2023, the Garda Siochána and Insurance Ireland have said they will take a “pragmatic and understanding” approach to motorists driving without valid NCT certificates due to the long wait for appointments.
Insurance Ireland has stated that: 'Insurance Ireland members will be pragmatic and understanding in their approach to the current delays at the National Car Testing Service (NCTS). Cover will continue to be provided where customers, through no fault of their own, are unable to obtain their NCT due to backlogs at test centres. Motor insurance and road traffic legislation require that motorists maintain their vehicles in a roadworthy condition at all times and this remains the case. Under the current circumstances, provided motorists make every effort to book appointments in the normal way, insurance companies will recognise that the current issue is not the fault of the customer'.
All cars must be tested every two years once they are four-years-old, and every year once they are 10-years-old. According to the Road Safety Authority, on whose behalf the Swiss company Applus operates the NCT service, the current average wait for a test is 25 days.
An Garda Siochána said that "it is a legal requirement for a vehicle over four years of age to have a valid NCT certificate. An Garda Síochána is cognisant of the delays experienced by the Road Safety Authority in the provision of dates for the NCT. Where a motorist is detected driving a vehicle without a valid NCT certificate and no date of re-examination can be produced in evidence by the driver, the driver may be prosecuted for not having a valid NCT certificate and they are liable to have their vehicle seized. Where a vehicle is detected without a valid NCT certificate and the driver is able to produce evidence of a date for a test having been scheduled, a garda will take this evidence into consideration”.
The online booking site suggests that the next available date for Killarney is next February.
News
Massive Park Road housing development given green light
A private developer has been given planning permission to build 249 new residential units at Upper Park Road. The development, which will be built on a recently cleared site near […]

A private developer has been given planning permission to build 249 new residential units at Upper Park Road.
The development, which will be built on a recently cleared site near An Post’s sorting office, will include a variety of properties from five-bed houses to single apartments, along with a crèche and over 500 car spaces and over 300 bike spaces.
The development has been welcomed by local councillor Martin Grady.
“Killarney has a massive housing shortage so this is very positive. It will retain young families in the area, stimulating economic growth,” he said. “After 17 years of different planning applications it’s finally coming to fruition.”
News
Ballydribeen residents living in fear due to anti-social behaviour
Residents in the Ballydribeen are living in fear as a result of increased anti-social behaviour in the estate. Several serious incidents in the estate have resulted in several Garda visits […]

Residents in the Ballydribeen are living in fear as a result of increased anti-social behaviour in the estate.
Several serious incidents in the estate have resulted in several Garda visits in the last week.
Local councillor Martin Grady told the Killarney Advertiser that residents are “living in fear” as a result of very serious incidents in the last week alone.
One house in the estate was badly damaged when fire crackers were placed inside a letter box.
Another house had its windows smashed in over the weekend.
“It’s a major problem,” added Grady after meeting residents there earlier this week.
One of the most serious incidents occurred on Tuesday night.
A passing motorists had rocks thrown at his car while driving along the bypass whch is adjacent to the estate.
Taking to social media, local primary-school teacher Pádraig O’Sullivan posted:
“Travelling home tonight, at 11.05pm on the Killarney side of the bypass our car was hit by a rock – not a pebble – from the Ballydribben side , which hit the passenger door.
“It was centimetres away from hitting the window where my father, who is visually impaired, was sitting.
“This could have caused catastrophic permanent injury to him.
“The Killarney Garda were on the scene within three minutes.
“They can’t be patrolling the bypass all night.
“It comes down to parenting. You should know where your children are at this hour and be able to teach them what’s funny and what ruin a person’s life or cause a fatal crash.“
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