Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 4:

In page 5, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following:

“Amendment of section 12 of Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001

2. Section 12 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001 is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4):

“(5) Any individual who utilised a vehicle in carrying out an offence under this section shall have their driving license disqualified for a period of 2 years as allowed for in the Road Traffic Acts and the Road Traffic Act 2006 following the serving of their custodial sentence under the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001.”.”.

The thinking behind this amendment is that, as the Minister of State is aware, many people who commit crimes in this city or in rural Ireland in particular use vehicles in the commission of those crimes. This amendment provides for an added penalty whereby if a person is convicted of an offence and a vehicle was used in the carrying out of the crime, there should be a penalty in terms of restricting such a person's ability to drive for a period. That is the rationale.