A Co Donegal man will not be prosecuted on a speeding charge because the State failed to issue the speeding notice and other relevant documents to him in his native Irish language.
The prosecution of Éamonn Mac Giolla Chomhaill, from Gaoth Dobhair, will not proceed, the High Court was told yesterday when it was informed that proceedings challenging that prosecution could be struck out on consent of both Mr Mac Giolla Chomhaill and the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The court also heard that the Coimisinéir Teanga, Seán Ó Curreáin, has received a commitment from the Garda Commissioner that bilingual copies of speeding notices - fixed penalty notices - are being distributed to gardaí so that people who wish to conduct their business in Irish may do so.
Mr Mac Giolla Chomhaill, a builder, was stopped for alleged speeding in February 2005 but the fixed penalty notice issued to him was in English.
Mr Mac Giolla Chomhaill said he was so shocked to receive the notice at the time that it was only the following day that he noticed it was in English. He learned English only in his teenage years and he conducted all his daily business through Irish, he said.
On receipt of a notice, the person named has 28 days to pay the fine of €80. If the fine is not paid within that time, a prosecution is taken. Mr Mac Giolla Chomhaill sought a copy of the notice in Irish but this was not sent to him within the 28-day time limit.
A prosecution was then taken which Mr Mac Giolla Chomhaill then challenged in judicial review proceedings.
He claimed the failure to send him the notice in his first language, and the failure of the State authorities to provide other relevant documents in Irish as sought by his solicitor, deprived him of the option of paying the fine in time and accepting the points.
Because of the failure to provide the documents in Irish, he was prejudiced and disadvantaged, he contended. His solicitor had written to Government Publications seeking copies in Irish of the relevant Road Traffic Acts and amendments to District Court rules but was told these were not available, he said.
In court yesterday, Luan Ó Braonáin, for the DPP, the Garda Commissioner, Ireland and the Attorney General, said the action had been settled. Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill struck out the proceedings as requested.