Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for her comments. She raised an important issue a few weeks ago in respect of the national driver file and the automatic transmission of information held by it to the gardaí, which I have acted upon. That issue was raised in the context of other points just made by the Deputy.

A total of 49 people have been disqualified under the penalty points system. We must remember that it is illegal to drive with a driving licence once one has accumulated 12 penalty points. A person who has accumulated 12 penalty points must surrender his or her driving licence. If he or she does not comply with this requirement, he or she faces two further problems under the law and can be prosecuted for driving with a driving licence which should have been surrendered and for not surrendering the licence in the first place.

The issue in respect of IT systems is a matter for the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the gardaí. Considerably more people have been disqualified through the courts for committing other motoring offences than have been disqualified for accumulating 12 penalty points. Due to the fact that the national driver file is now available to the gardaí, I believe that gardaí should do more than simply wait to stop and catch people on the side of the road and then check out the information. There should be a proactive unit within the gardaí which would ensure, once it receives notification from the national driver file, which is delivered more or less in real time and with the co-operation of the licensing authorities, that the licences of people who have accumulated 12 penalty points have been surrendered. This unit should pursue those who have not surrendered their licences. The system should be much more proactive. It should not simply be a matter of the gardaí stopping people on the side of the road and checking whether there is a problem with his or her driving licence when the information goes back into the system.

The handheld unit, which will be used by the traffic corps, can take down all the details of a vehicle from the driver. If the garda suspects that the person has accumulated penalty points, he or she can return to the mainframe computer system in the station and download the relevant information. If he or she encounters a problem, he or she can automatically pursue the driver in question.

While some people may be abusing the system, I do not accept, nor do I have anything other than anecdotal evidence, that widespread abuse of the system takes place once people are disqualified. The vast majority of people who have been disqualified move to surrender their licences very quickly to serve their six-month period of disqualification as quickly as possible. There may be instances where people abuse the system but the law is very strong, as is the ability of the gardaí to prosecute people who do not surrender their licences or who drive with their licences when they should have surrendered them. The penalties are very severe so I would not advise any driver who has accumulated 12 penalty points and has been disqualified to take a chance and continue to drive.

We could progress by having a more proactive system in respect of notification and the existence of a unit within the gardaí which would pursue those who have been disqualified to ensure they have surrendered their licences.

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