I have requested a report from the Garda authorities in relation to the information requested by the Deputy and I will contact the Deputy directly upon receipt of the relevant information.
Insofar as conviction statistics are concerned, the Courts Service is not in a position to match specific prosecutions initiated to court results.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 42A:
I refer to Parliamentary Question No. 104 of 7 March 2017, in which the Deputy asked ‘the number of road side checks of buses and mini buses, vehicles to carry eight or more passengers in each of the years 2014 to 2016 and to date in 2017; the number of drivers of such vehicles arrested for road traffic offences, indicating the road traffic offences, in the same period; the number of prosecutions brought and convictions made’.
As the Deputy will recall, the Courts Service is not in a position to match specific prosecutions initiated to courts results, and the information requested from An Garda Síochána could not be obtained in the time available and I undertook to contact you again when it was to hand.
I am informed by An Garda Síochána that the specific information sought by you is not readily available and would necessitate the disproportionate expenditure of Garda time and resources to collate the data requested.
I am advised that road traffic legislation is enforced as part of the day-to-day duties of members of An Garda Síochána, as well as through a programme of high visibility road safety and enforcement operations, carried out in partnership with other state agencies. Garda operations specifically target road use behaviour known to contribute significantly to collisions, including driving while intoxicated, as well as speeding and use of a mobile phone. Both strategic, targeted operations and general methods of enforcement have a valuable role to play in An Garda Síochána's road traffic enforcement programme, which targets locations with a view to preventing the commission of offences, detecting errant motorists, changing their behaviour and ultimately reducing death and injuries on our roads.
Both formal checkpoints, such as MAT and Multi Agency HGV checkpoints, and informal checkpoints, form part of these operations and are conducted by An Garda Síochána, either singularly or with other agencies. These agencies include the Road Safety Authority, Taxi Regulator, Revenue Commissioners (Customs & Excise) and the Department of Social Protection.
I hope this information is of assistance.
