Locals in north Mayo urged to sign petition for NCT Centre

A campaign to establish a National Car Testing (NCT) centre in Belmullet has launched a petition book at Michael Conroy Motors in the town.

The initiative aims to gather public support for the establishment of a local NCT facility in the Erris region, where approximately 15,000 residents currently face round trips of up to 150 kilometres to reach testing centres in Ballina or Westport.

Michael Conroy explained the campaign's approach: "We have a petition book here in the garage and we're just asking everyone to come in and sign it. Come 2027 then when we need to talk, we can hand the petition book to send those thousands of signatures here, hundreds or whatever it might be."

The petition comes after Mayo TD Alan Dillon arranged a meeting at Leinster House in December with Minister of State Seán Canney and departmental officials, alongside Michael and Mairead Conroy of Michael Conroy Motors, to press the case for testing infrastructure in Erris.

Speaking after the meeting, the Fine Gael TD said the meeting "marks an important first step in advancing this project and ensuring the challenges faced by Erris motorists are fully recognised."

Michael and Mairead Conroy, who attended the meeting representing their hometown, expressed pride in having the opportunity to advocate for their community at the national level. "We did this with great pride to represent our home town of Belmullet," they said, thanking Dillon for the welcoming reception and the opportunity to present their case.

READ MORE: Planning granted to extend kitepower testing site in north Mayo

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has confirmed that in 2027 it will conduct a further needs analysis to assess future requirements for NCT services across the country. This assessment will examine the potential establishment of new centres as part of any future procurement of the NCT service contract.

The petition book is currently available for signing at Michael Conroy Motors in Belmullet, with organisers encouraging all local residents to show their support for the proposal.

The Mayo News understands that plans are also in place to launch an online petition later in the year.