Vol. 388 No. 5
asked the Minister for the Environment the reason a person (details supplied) in Dublin 12 has been refused renewal of his driving licence arising out of a series of inconclusive court cases and inadequate legal advice; the steps which should be taken in order to ensure that this person can obtain the restoration of his driving licence; if his licence has been endorsed; the number of any such endorsements; the dates of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
201.
asked the Minister for the Environment if his attention has been drawn to the fact that difficulties have arisen in relation to the renewal of a driving licence for a person (details supplied) in Dublin 12; if he has satisfied himself that natural justice has been adhered to and that this citizen has not been unfairly discriminated against; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 196 and 201 together. Under the Road Traffic Acts, where a person is convicted of an offence and is disqualified from holding a driving licence, the court must by order direct that particulars of the conviction and the disqualification order be endorsed on the driving licence held by that person. The Acts also provide that an endorsement must remain on a driving licence and on any subsequent licence for a period of not less than three years from the date of the endorsement, provided there is no break between the expiry date of one licence and the commencement date of the next one, otherwise the endorsement remains on the licence for a series of discontinuous periods amounting, in the aggregate, to not less than five years. I understand that the person referred to by the Deputy was convicted of a traffic offence and disqualified from holding a driving licence for 12 months with effect from 6 December 1986, that he appealed the conviction but subsequently withdrew the appeal, that the conviction was then confirmed and that he was disqualified from holding a driving licence for 12 months with effect from 6 November 1987. He now holds a driving licence which was endorsed on 21 November 1988. He will not be entitled to a licence free from endorsement before 21 November 1991. This will be conditional on his not allowing a gap to occur between the expiry date of one licence and the renewal date of the next licence. In this regard, he may renew his licence up to one month prior to the expiry date of the existing licence.
