Vol. 567 No. 1
357 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Transport the reason the penalty points are not being applied from the day of detection as promised by him; and if they will be removed following a 12 month period providing that no additional points are accumulated. [13650/03]
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 Road Traffic Act 2002, contains a number of provisions to ensure 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.
The Act also sets out details relating to the operation of the system. The points remain on the licence record for a period of three years from the date of the application of the points and the accumulation of 12 points or more leads to an automatic six month disqualification. I am satisfied that the timeframe provided for in the Act is appropriate.
Question No. 358 answered with Question No. 351.
