As I previously advised the Deputy, the Courts Service has put in place arrangements to ensure that summonses issued since May 2012 include wording to advise persons charged with an offence under the Road Traffic Acts to bring their driving licence together with a photocopy of the licence when they are attending court. I am informed that the Courts Service has communicated with the judiciary to facilitate an arrangement that defendants who appear before the court are requested in court to produce their driving licence and a copy thereof to the court registrar for the purpose of having the driving licence number recorded. Additionally, Registrars have been requested to record whether or not the licence or a copy thereof was produced to the court. Where the driving licence number is recorded and on conviction the details are provided to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.
The Courts Service has reported that there has been a small increase in licence numbers collected since the new procedures were introduced. However, the Service has stated that it is too early to draw definitive conclusions as the systems put in place require further time to become fully effective. In relation to cases where the driving licence number has not been produced, the Service has indicated that they are continuing to evaluate the systems recently introduced to ensure that they are fully functional to, in due course, provide An Garda Síochána with the necessary information to initiate the prosecutions. The Service has stated that work is ongoing in this area and has undertaken to provide a further update by the end of July 2013.
