In accordance with Section 5 of the Road Traffic Act, 2002 my Department issues notification to licence holders in relation to the endorsement of penalty points and if the number of points equals or exceeds 12 the notice specifies the period of disqualification from driving and directs the licence holder to submit his/her licence to the licensing authority that granted the licence.
At the same time, by administrative process, my Department issues a notice concerning the disqualification to An Garda Síochána and the relevant licensing authority. It is a matter for the licensing authority to pursue the licence holder with regard to the surrender of the licence in similar fashion to the arrangements where surrender is required in respect of other non-penalty points related disqualifications.
The NVDF system facilitates entry of licence surrender details directly by licensing authorities. My Department is in communication with motor tax offices with a view to obtaining details of any surrendered licences which may not have been recorded on the NVDF system and arrangements will be made to supply the Deputy with the information provided. It will be appreciated that motor tax offices are no longer licensing authorities for driving licences and many of the disqualifications are now historic. The RSA is now the single licensing authority for driving licences for the country since October 2013 and this will facilitate more precise monitoring with regard to surrendered licences.
