Price of NCT set to jump from January
The cost of driving licences, learner permits, and National Car Tests (NCTs) will increase next year, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has announced.
The RSA says the increases are part of its "business planning for the coming year, including planned €18m expenditure on public interest activities and government priorities".
The price hikes affect the cost of the NCT tests and retests, as well as the cost of acquiring driving licences and learner permits.
From January 1, 2025:
The cost of a driving licence will increase from €55 to €65; the cost of a learner permit will increase from €35 to €45; the cost of a full NCT will increase from €55 to €60; and the cost of an NCT retest will increase from €28 to €40."These will be the first changes to costs of services since 2012, and in some cases since 2011," an RSA spokesperson said.
Last month, the Government announced that a plan for the “radical transformation” of the RSA had been signed off.
The proposal would see the RSA split into two agencies - one focused on the delivery of services, and the other focused on road safety initiatives such as media campaigns, education, and research.
An independent external review of the RSA by Indecon consultants, carried out in January 2024 and presented to Government early last month, had recommended that fees for customer services provided by the RSA be reviewed.
The review described the agency's current funding model as "no longer sustainable".
That report had recommended an increase in RSA fees from 2025 as well as "modest increases in subsequent years" on condition that the RSA substantially meets its service level targets.
The RSA has been under increasing pressure over the past two years or so as the number of deaths on Irish roads increased to worrying levels, before returning to lower comparative levels in the summer.
