Section 44 of the Road Traffic Act 2010 deals with the payment of a fixed charge on service of a summons to court. It is also known as the “3rd payment option” and has not yet been commenced because the administrative structure for dealing with the option is not yet in place. A sub-group of the Criminal Justice (Fixed Charge Processing System) Working Group is in the process of working through the operation of the proposed third payment option and identifying what changes to existing systems and procedures are necessary.
I understand that a number of administrative and technical matters will need to be addressed by the Gardaí and Courts Services and a suitable IT solution put in place so that this option can be implemented. There are also substantial capital and running costs involved. It is necessary to analyse the costs associated with this in detail and put together a business case to underpin the funding proposal. It is envisaged that this recommendation will be implemented in the next year. I look forward to this "3rd payment option" coming into effect during 2015 as its non-implementation has meant that I cannot commence a number of other sections in the 2010 Act as the provisions contained are interrelated.