Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I want to focus on disqualified drivers. Something like 1,800 learners were disqualified in 2023 and only 3% of them surrendered their permit to the Road Safety Authority. From a parliamentary question reply, I discovered that only one driver out of the 10,000 who were disqualified in court in 2022 and 2023 was then convicted of not surrendering their licence. In the UK, for example, a driver does not leave the court without leaving their licence if they are disqualified. What recommendations is the Road Safety Authority making in that regard? Is this with the Department or is there an engagement between both bodies? Essentially, the whole idea of a disqualification is as much to make the roads safer as it is to punish the person who was disqualified.