Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 3 Apr 2003

Vol. 564 No. 3

Written Answers - Road Traffic Offences.

John Cregan

Ceist:

205 Mr. Cregan asked the Minister for Transport the position with regard to the penalty points system for speeding; if points are issued for a speeding offence whether it is two or three miles over the limit or 20 or 25; if a graduated penalty is or should be in existence; when an offence is put on one's record; the reason it does not take effect from the date of the offence as currently it appears to be four or five months later; and if no consideration is given to motorists with a previously clean record. [9252/03]

Minister for Transport (Mr. Brennan)

The penalty points system, which is provided for in the Road Traffic Act 2002, was introduced with effect from 31 October 2002 for the offence of breaching a speed limit. Penalty points are being applied to the driving licence records of those convicted of such offences, and to those who pay a fixed charge to the Garda in order to prevent the instigation of court proceedings. The decision to issue a fixed charge notice to a person who is accused of the commission of a speeding offence rests with the garda who has detected the alleged speed limit breach. The 2002 Act provides that the process of proceeding to a court hearing, can only be instigated through the initial issue of a fixed charge notice.

Where a person is convicted of the offence of breaching a speed limit, the number of penalty points associated with the conviction is four. The maximum fine for a first offence is €800. If on the other hand, a person opts to pay the fixed charge of €80 within 28 days of the issue of the fixed charge notice from the Garda, two points will be endorsed on his or her licence record. Where a person does not pay that amount within the 28 day period, he or she is afforded a further period of 28 days within which he or she may make a payment of €120. However the number of penalty points remains unchanged.

The Road Traffic Act 2002 establishes a specific and definite level of points that apply both in the context of a court conviction and, in so far as the majority of the offences are concerned, the payment of a fixed charge in order to provide a clear and specific deterrent which will encourage changes in driver behaviour. The Road Traffic Acts establish clearly that a court has within its competence the capacity to assess and determine a level of culpability of a driver in particular circumstance. For that reason, a court may determine the financial penalty that is to be imposed within the framework of the maximum penalty set in those Acts. In the case of second or subsequent offences for speeding, a court has the capacity to impose a jail sentence where it considers such a penalty as being appropriate.

The Road Traffic Act 2002 also contains a specific structure that applies directly to the effective application of penalty points on the licence record of an individual. Section 5 of the Act provides that where penalty points are to be endorsed in a record, a notification of that endorsement must be issued to the licence holder involved. The notice sets out in particular the basis for the endorsement of the points. Section 7 of the Act provides that, save in very limited and quite specific instances, the operative date for penalty points is 28 days from the date of the notice issued under section 5. The application of penalty points from the date of the alleged commission of an offence would not be appropriate in that the points would apply from a date that would precede either the payment of a fixed charge or the determination of guilt by a court.