Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 September 2020
170. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the number of learner drivers detected by gardaí driving on motorways in each year since 2014; the number prosecuted for the offence per year; the number convicted in court; the penalties imposed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24639/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have requested information from An Garda Síochána and the Courts Service on the matter requested by the Deputy and will write directly to the Deputy when it is received.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51
I refer to Parliamentary Question Number 170 for answer on 17 September 2020, in which you requested “the number of learner drivers detected by Gardaí driving on motorways in each year since 2014; the number prosecuted for the offence per year; the number convicted in court; the penalties imposed; and if she will make a statement on the matter.”
You will recall that the information could not be obtained in the time available and I undertook to consult with An Garda Síochána and the Courts Service and contact you again when the information was available.
I am informed by An Garda Síochána that the number of Summonses issued for Driving On a Motorway with a Provisional License Contrary to Section 43 of the Roads Act, 1993 were as follows:
|
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 (Jan-July) |
|
57 |
28 |
18 |
16 |
20 |
17 |
7 |
I am further informed by the Garda authorities that it is not possible to provide numbers for detections as this would necessitate a manual trawl of all relevant incidents recorded on PULSE to collate same, which would require a disproportionate expenditure of Garda time and resources.
I am informed by the Courts Service that the two reports appended to this reply detail:
-Report for Jan – Dec for each year 2014 - 2019 & Jan – 31 July 2020, on the number of Learner Drivers driving on motorways which were before the courts and the number of those drivers that were convicted of the offence;
-Report on the penalties imposed for convictions.
For ease of reference these reports are appended to this reply, please note the following with regard to these reports:
Note 1: The reports are based on offence codes that have been coded i.e.
(DRIVING ON MOTORWAY WITH PROVISIONAL LICENCE), Contrary to Section 43 and Section 81 of the Roads Act, 1993.
Note 2: The reports also include summonses that were not served but were listed for court.
Note 3: The reports include Summonses & Charge Sheets.
Note 4: Courts can only provide data in relation to where offence codes provided on the system were used by prosecutors. Prosecutors may have used uncoded free text offences and any such offences would not be included in the data provided.
Report 1: Report on the number of persons before the court & the number of persons convicted
|
Jan – Dec 2014 |
Number of persons before the court |
80 |
|
Number of persons convicted |
19 |
|
|
Jan – Dec 2015 |
Number of persons before the court |
45 |
|
Number of persons convicted |
14 |
|
|
Jan – Dec 2016 |
Number of persons before the court |
23 |
|
Number of persons convicted |
12 |
|
|
Jan - Dec 2017 |
Number of persons before the court |
23 |
|
Number of persons convicted |
8 |
|
|
Jan – Dec 2018 |
Number of persons before the court |
15 |
|
Number of persons convicted |
4 |
|
|
Jan – Dec 2019 |
Number of persons before the court |
17 |
|
Number of persons convicted |
6 |
|
|
Jan – July 2020 |
Number of persons before the court |
6 |
|
Number of persons convicted |
4 |
Report 2: Report on the penalty imposed for convictions
|
Orders |
Jan - Dec 2014 |
Jan - Dec 2015 |
Jan - Dec 2016 |
Jan - Dec 2017 |
Jan - Dec 2018 |
Jan - Dec 2019 |
Jan - July 2020 |
|
Fine |
19 |
14 |
12 |
8 |
4 |
6 |
3 |
|
Disqualification |
1 |
