The disqualification of drivers is an important road safety measure; it keeps dangerous drivers off our roads and it acts as a deterrent to possible disqualification, thereby reducing the risk of drivers engaging in bad behaviour. Accordingly, proper administration and enforcement of driver disqualification is critical to safety on our roads. The disqualification of drivers and the enforcement of the various provisions is a shared responsibility of the Road Safety Authority (RSA), the Courts Service, An Garda Síochána and my Department.
Where a driver is convicted and given a driving disqualification by the Courts, the current process involves the Courts Service entering the details on their own Criminal Case Tracking System (CCTS), and then manually printing and sending the disqualification notices to the RSA external provider. The external provider subsequently records the details of the disqualification on the driver record on the Department National Vehicle and Driver File (NVDF), on behalf of the RSA.
A project is now underway to provide for electronic transfer of such driver disqualifications details to the NVDF, once the time period to lodge an appeal has passed, and no appeal has been lodged. My officials have been engaged with both the Courts Service and the RSA on the matter for the past number of months, and the business requirements and the technical specifications of how this automated interface will work are now being finalised. It is envisaged that the new automated process will be completed by the end of Q1, 2022.
I understand that the role of the provider itself is broader than just entry of such driver disqualifications on the NVDF. The cost to date of the external provider is a matter for the RSA, and I have forwarded that part of the Question to the Authority for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days.
