Mr. Gerard Dollard:

A number of the fines - I would say the majority - relate to failure to notify transfer of ownership. The more serious cases would be dealt with by direct prosecution by ourselves, by the Garda or by the special investigations unit in the Department. The reason for the reduction in fines is that we operate under statute and unless we can prove that the change of ownership took place within 12 months of the time we prosecute, it is statute barred and we cannot proceed. As we build our traceability system, and even with our confidential phone line, the information available to us will vastly improve.