The decision to drop a speeding charge against a Co Donegal builder because he was not issued the notice and other documents in Irish could launch a "deluge" of similar legal challenges, Fine Gael has claimed.
Transport spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell said the case of Éamonn Mac Giolla Chomhaill could lead to other challenges to road traffic offences because the necessary legislation has not been translated into Irish.
"The Road Traffic Act may be just one of many pieces of legislation that is in breach of the Official Languages Act," she said. "This could potentially lead to further court challenges or judicial reviews in road traffic cases and other cases."
However, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell denied the case created a precedent which other motorists could exploit. "No, I don't think so," he said. "The tickets will be available in Irish. I'm advised that there's no legal issue there."
Minister for Transport Martin Cullen acknowledged that the case was "very frustrating".
"It demonstrates again that unfortunately the most challenged law in the country is always road traffic law," he told The Irish Times. "My view on these things is, look, if somebody is guilty of an offence, that should be the end of the matter. Using technical matters to overcome them is not something that I appreciate. Nevertheless, the law is there, people are entitled to use the law themselves."
The commissioner for Irish, Seán Ó Cuirreáin, said he had previously received "quite a number" of complaints from individuals about the issuing of fixed penalty notices in English. He was told by the Garda Commissioner in October 2004 that Irish versions of speeding notices were being distributed to gardaí.
He was confident that outstanding Acts of the Oireachtas which had yet to be translated into Irish would be translated. "This is not a loophole in the law. It is simply an issue of administration. It simply requires gardaí to have either an Irish language version of the fixed penalty notice available, or preferably a bilingual one."