FG Senator's car seized over tax disc

A FINE Gael Senator fined for boarding a train without a ticket last month had her car impounded because it did not have a valid road tax disc.

Galway-based Fidelma Healy Eames has said her Mercedes car was towed away during rush hour in Galway city during the hosting of the Volvo Ocean Race last month.

Ms Healy Eames said she was “completely in the wrong” and “mortified” for not having a valid tax disc. Contractors acting on behalf of the Garda impounded the car on July 2nd at Moneenageisha, near the city centre.

Last month Ms Healy Eames also paid a €100 fine after having boarded an early-morning train at Athenry station without a ticket.

In her explanation she said the train was at the station when she arrived and she had intended to buy a ticket on board but was not aware she was required to purchase one if a ticket office or vending machine was available at the station. Both were available at Athenry on the relevant morning.

In an interview with the Galway Advertiser, Ms Healy Eames said she had been trying to sell her car and had been using public transport to and from Dublin in recent months. As a result she had neglected to renew her car tax.

“I was mortified. On this matter I was totally wrong. Mea culpa,” she said.

In relation to the train incident she again denied that she had “torn strips off the ticket inspector”, as claimed by a train passenger on a posting on Twitter. Another passenger independently rejected the claim.

The Senator has been at the centre of a number of controversies in recent months.

Last week a court in Galway heard a case taken by a plumber against her and her husband, Michael Eames, over a failure to pay for work carried out at their Oranmore home.

The case against Ms Healy Eames was dismissed but her husband was ordered to pay more than €12,000 to the plumber, Michael Allen.

In the interview published yesterday, the Senator said there had been sensational coverage of the incidents, as well as an attempt to sully her name.

She cited reports last weekend that suggested she and her husband had broken planning rules in relation to a garage at their home. She said the garage was fully compliant with planning.