Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have been given a document from the office of the Minister for Justice and Equality. It states the Minister has been able to obtain the figures for the numbers of drivers who were before the courts between 1 January and 31 December 2017 for the offence of driving while disqualified, the numbers who were convicted and the penalties imposed. The number of drivers was 362 and the number convicted was 82. This is approximately a 20% conviction rate, and I take the figures as accurate as they came from the Minister for Justice and Equality. The penalties imposed in these cases were: community service, 4; disqualified, 59 - but I would have thought the whole lot would have been disqualified and have a penalty on top of the disqualification; fines, 26; imprisonment part suspended, 27; imprisonment with all suspended, 31; and other, one.

I am curious as to how the witnesses cannot have the figures with them because the Director of Public Prosecutions said the two penalties cannot be separated, and yet the Minister was able to access the figures.