Ms Moyagh Murdock:

No, they do not. They are also subject to the law requiring them to surrender their driver's licence but the greater offence was in driving unaccompanied or speeding and accumulating seven penalty points. We brought down the level of penalty points to ensure that at least there is less of a window during which these people could engage in risky behaviour. We also introduced penalty points for the non-display of L plates for learner drivers and N plates for novice drivers. We have seen a big improvement in the display of these plates, but it is still an area where there is a lax attitude. The visible enforcement of this measure, where a garda can check the status of the driver's licence if he or she is a learner driver or a qualified driver, would be very useful.