M. J. Nolan
Ceist:457 Mr. Nolan asked the Minister for Transport the number of penalty points which have been issued as a result of the introduction of the penalty points system for speeding offences on a month-by-month basis. [18415/03]
Written Answers. - Penalty Points System.
Penalty points for speeding have been operating since 31 October 2002. Penalty points are being applied to the driving licence records of those convicted of speeding offences, and to those who pay a fixed charge to the Garda in order to prevent the instigation of court proceedings.
Since 1 June 2003 penalty points are applicable to the offence of driving without insurance. These points will apply on court conviction.
Penalty points are endorsed on the licence record held in the national driver file upon conviction for a speeding or insurance offence, or upon payment of a fixed charge for speeding. In the case of speeding offences, the system operates in such a way that the offer of paying a fixed charge is always provided and a person has 56 days within which to pay the charge. The 56-day period comprises an initial 28-day period within which a €80 fixed charge can be paid, followed by a further 28-day period within which a fixed charge of €120 can be paid. If a person opts not to pay, the case is taken to court. These periods are built into the system and ensure that every opportunity is afforded to the person to pay the fixed charge and avoid a court hearing. There is therefore an inevitable and intrinsic time-lapse between the issue of the notices, the payment of the fixed charge and the notification of the endorsement of penalty points. In this context, the first penalty point notifications issued in December 2002 despite the fact that penalty points for speeding had been operational since 31 October 2002. The following table sets out the number of notifications issued each month since December 2002.
|
Month |
No of Notices Issued |
|
December 2002 |
761 |
|
January 2003 |
2,180 |
|
February 2003 |
3,516 |
|
March 2003 |
6,524 |
|
April 2003 |
4,905 |
|
May 2003 |
5,514 |
|
June 2003 |
8,897 |
|
Total |
32,297 |