Vol. 565 No. 4
154 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for Transport when penalty points are awarded to an individual's licence; if it is on the date of the offence or the date on which the fine is paid; the number of licence holders that have to date been credited with penalty points on their driving licence; if any licence holder reached the maximum points on their licence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11232/03]
The penalty points system, which is provided for in the Road Traffic Act 2002, was introduced with effect from 31 October 2002 for the offence of breaching a speed limit. Penalty points are being applied to the driving licence records of those convicted of such offences and to those who pay a fixed charge to the gardaí to prevent the instigation of court proceedings.
The Road Traffic Act 2002, contains a specific structure that applies directly to the effective application of penalty points on the licence record of an individual. Section 5 of the Act provides that where penalty points are to be endorsed in a record, a notification of that endorsement must be issued to the licence holder involved. The notice sets out in particular the basis for the endorsement of the points. Section 7 of the Act provides that, save in limited and quite specific instances, the operative date for penalty points is 28 days from the date of the notice issued under section 5. The application of penalty points from the date of the alleged commission of an offence would not be appropriate in that the points would apply from a date that would precede either the payment of a fixed charge or the determination of guilt by a court.
