Ms Paula Hilman:

It is important the focus is on outcomes, and rightly so. The outcome may not always be a fixed charge notice. That is where the difference is. We talk about numbers, but the technology that our members have in 2024 and that roads policing members have needs to be highlighted. We see the number of times our members are checking people on their phones or whether they have committed offences previously. There may not always be a fixed charge notice, but officers are checking that a person is safe to drive or has not been not disqualified. We are really seeing the benefit of that from the legislation that was introduced in the context of insurance data being shared with us, which will be formally launched at the end of the month. That has taken a number of years. I acknowledge and pay tribute to the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland, MIBI, which created the Irish motor insurance database, which gives us live access to private car owners. We will have fleets going forward.

As the Commissioner outlined earlier, we have seized 6,500 vehicles being driven on Irish roads without insurance since the beginning of the year as a result of our having ready access to that data. The more we can do that, the better. We have data from transport regarding driving licences, but what we know is that someone holds a driving licence. That is it. We do not know what category the licence is, what type of licence or what categories of vehicles they are entitled to drive. We know whether they are disqualified or not. That is it. We do not know how many points they have. Giving us full access to the national driver vehicle file will enable us to have more live information about those high-risk drivers on Irish roads. We are really seeing the benefits.

We have rolled out ANPR to all roads policing members. Since April, all roads policing members have ANPR on their mobile devices and in 120 of their vehicles. The more we can do this in order that we are really focusing on those drivers who present the highest risk, the better.