The Criminal Justice Fixed Charge Processing Group, jointly chaired by my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality, includes officials from both Departments and representatives from the Road Safety Authority, an Garda Síochána, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Attorney General's Office, the Revenue Commissioners and the Courts Service.
The Group was established in 2014 in response to the Garda Inspectorate Report of that year, and meets every two months to progress and report on the various projects under its aegis.
Among the projects successfully implemented under the Group's guidance are the third payment option, whereby motorists on receipt of a summons for non-payment of a fixed charge are now afforded a final chance to pay the charge and avoid a court appearance; work on the design of the Master Licence Record in the National Vehicle and Driver File, a three-year project, commenced last year; and various measures to increase the rate of service of summons (which has risen from 57% in 2014 to 69% in 2016).
The Group is due to meet again in November 2017 for a Future Vision session, where new priorities will be identified and a work programme agreed.
