Legislative changes to penalty point system

MINISTER FOR Transport Noel Dempsey is to introduce legislative changes to the penalty point system.

The main problems with the scheme are the high number of cases coming before the courts and difficulties proving a motorist received the notification.

Speaking in the Dáil last week, the Minister said he would change provisions in the system “to improve its effectiveness and to support the better use of the resources of the gardaí and the Courts Service”.

There are 36 offences that attract a fixed charge of €80. If it is not paid within 26 days, it rises to €120, with a further 26 days to pay. Current legislation prevents any payment after this, with all unpaid fines resulting in a summons and court case.

While the legislation was designed to allow motorists who wished to challenge their allocation access to the courts, it is generating a huge volume of cases from people who either forget to pay on time or claim not to have received the notice.

Data from the Courts Service for 2007 suggested just half of motorists paid their fines on time, leading to some 90,000 additional District Court cases in the first six months of that year, with a further 31,000 pending.

The second problem is that for many cases in the courts, it cannot be proven that the motorist received the notification, as these are issued by regular post, so many cases are struck out.

Both An Garda and the Courts Service have called for changes to reduce the workload created by the volume of cases coming before the courts.

Mr Dempsey said his objective was to “maximise the number of cases dealt with under the fixed charge system”.

The Minister had pledged to introduce the new Road Traffic Bill before the summer recess, but missed this deadline. A spokeswoman for the Minister said “the preparation of legislation takes time” and that it was currently being “finalised”.

Fine Gael transport spokesman Fergus O’Dowd said the Courts Service was being prevented from doing its normal work because it was obliged to process minor infringements.

“If people opt not to go to court in the first week. . . the level of the fine should be automatically increased if not paid within 20 or 40 days,” said Mr O’Dowd.