Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

I will read from the answer I received recently to a parliamentary question, which states: "Failing to surrender a licence following disqualification is also an offence and is a matter for the Garda Síochána." Just 4% of people in court surrendered their licences. From the answer to another parliamentary question, I believe one person was fined in recent years, back in 2022. It also states: "An Garda Síochána have access to data on the National Vehicle and Driver File and can detect and prosecute drivers who continue to drive while disqualified, whether or not their licence has been surrendered." We have shown today that picture is not complete. The third point, also from a parliamentary question, states that when they do not present their licences in court, "the National Driving Licence Service (NDLS), operated by the Road Safety Authority (RSA), conducts a manual search" of all disqualified drivers to try to match the disqualification with their driving information. That sounds like a huge amount of work to do manually. Why are we not following the example of what is happening in the North and requiring people to surrender their licences in court?