Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

It is in law but has not yet commenced in practice. We should think more about the other side of this matter because we initially introduced stiff penalties, including disqualification, that included a shame factor attached to having to attend court. We must be wary of sending the wrong signal on drink driving and must balance both sides of the argument because each has merit. This matter could be discussed in the Joint Committee on Transport before the next road traffic Act.

The penalty points system was extended with effect from 3 April 2006 featuring 35 separate offences, with use of mobile phones added from September 2006. Fixed charges now apply to almost 60 offences. The focus of the penalty points system is on driver behaviour and highlights safety issues such as those mentioned by Deputy Deenihan earlier, including speeding, failure to wear seat belts, dangerous overtaking and failure to obey traffic lights, stop signs and yield signs. This all focuses on driver behaviour.

It must be remembered, however, that a person in receipt of a fixed charge notice is not compelled by law to pay the fixed charge amount provided therein. Road traffic offences are criminal offences. Any person alleged to have committed a road traffic offence is entitled to have his or her case heard by the courts and the non-payment of the fixed charge amount is an indication by that person that he or she wishes to have the matter dealt with by the court. A person who opts to have the case heard in court is subject, on conviction, to an increased number of penalty points and is liable to a significantly higher financial penalty than if he or she had opted to pay a fixed charge notice.

Where a person has accumulated 12 penalty points and is to be disqualified from holding a licence for a period of six months beginning on the appropriate date, the Road Traffic Act 2002 specifically provides that he or she be directed to surrender his or her driving licence to the licensing authority that granted the licence not later than 14 days from that date. I understand that 93 people so far have reached the maximum number of points. Failure to comply with such a direction is an offence under the Road Traffic Acts. The penalties on summary conviction for the offence of failing to surrender a licence can result, in the case of a first offence, to a fine not exceeding €1,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding three months or to both a fine and imprisonment. The enforcement of the requirement to surrender a driving licence as required by the 2002 Act is a matter for the Garda Síochána.

The penalty points and fixed charge notice system, as provided for in the Road Traffic Act 2002, has been implemented by means of the Garda fixed charge processing system, FCPS, in the Garda Síochána. Essentially, the system has automated end to end processing of fixed charge notices within the Garda Síochána and provides electronic transfer of information with the other State agencies involved, in particular the Courts Service and the Department of Transport vehicle registration unit in Shannon.

There have been significant developments in the FCPS over the past two years and, in addition, the system also became fully integrated with the PULSE system in April 2006, thereby enabling the amalgamation of summons for the same person to be issued for the same court appearance date, thus saving time and resources for both the Courts Service and the Garda Síochána.

Further automation of the penalty points system was achieved in the first quarter of 2006 through the integration of the Garda FCPS with the Courts Service criminal case tracking system, CCTS, via PULSE. This allows for the electronic delivery of summons, applications for penalty point offences from the PULSE system to CCTS and details of scheduled hearing dates from CCTS back to PULSE. The Courts Service electronically transfers details of all in-court penalty point convictions to the Department of Transport for upload to the national driver file and the Garda Síochána keeps a copy for verification of driver data.

The Garda Síochána also receives regular notifications from the Department of Transport of drivers disqualified for having accumulated 12 penalty points. The principal aim of the system is to ensure effective and efficient processing of fixed charge and penalty point notices so that cases are dealt with as quickly as possible and in such a way as to free up valuable Garda resources for operational duties to the greatest extent possible. The majority of fixed charge notices, more than 70%, are paid on time and do not go to court. Some 500,000 of them have been issued.

My Department's national vehicle and driver file, NVDF, is critical to the administration of the penalty points system and its role can be divided into two areas of activity, namely, the issuing of penalty points notifications and the supply of NVDF driver extracts to critical stakeholders. My Department's office in Shannon receives an electronic file, normally on a weekly basis from An Post which is contracted by the Garda Síochána for the supply of computer services relating to the administration of the penalty points system. This file contains details of drivers and the penalty points offences committed by them, the number of penalty points to be imposed and dates relating to the offences. The data is validated against the core NVDF records and, in the case of successful matches, penalty points notification documents are generated. These are printed and posted to the drivers affected on the day following receipt of the file from An Post.

The notifications provide the driver with details of the offence, the number of penalty points applied and the number of points accumulated. In instances where a total of 12 points have been reached or exceeded, the driver is informed that a disqualification will apply for six months, commencing 28 days after the issue of the notice. I understand 93 such notices have been issued. The system also facilitates notification of expiry of points after three years in accordance with the provisions of the system. The core NVDF records are updated with the penalty points details, including disqualifications, and these are visible to and updateable by local motor tax office staff with on-line processing facilities directly to the NVDF.

The system also involves the provision of NVDF data extracts to assist other stakeholders in fulfilling their roles in the administration of the penalty points system. This includes An Post, the contracted agency responsible for processing payments for penalty point offences, which require access to NVDF data to validate both driver and driving licence details. An NVDF record extract which contains additional information on driver disqualifications is provided to the Garda Síochána. Special notations are used to highlight penalty points disqualifications and surrender of driving licences to motor tax offices.

In addition to these electronic arrangements, my Department issues a letter to the manager of the relevant motor tax office highlighting each instance of disqualification where the driver has reached or exceeded the 12 penalty point limit. A report based on NVDF data setting out the status of each disqualified driver, including the position on the surrender of the driving licence, is also generated each month and this issues to the Garda Síochána and the RSA.

It is an offence not to surrender one's driving licence within 14 days of receipt of a notification advising that 12 penalty points have been accumulated. The Garda receives a report setting out the status of each disqualified driver, including whether the licence has been surrendered. It is therefore a matter for the Garda to issue summonses and pursue those who have failed to surrender their licence.

I will bring forward legislation in 2008 to deal with various road safety issues. This will involve a review of the law relating to penalty points and driver disqualifications, taking account of whether the Garda requires any further statutory or legislative clarity to assist in the enforcement of these areas. The implementation of road safety measures has had a significant impact on the level of road deaths in recent years, but such measures will not work alone. Road users must take responsibility for driving behaviour and each of us can help to reduce the level of road deaths and injuries. The RSA, other Departments and agencies will implement a range of road safety initiatives as part of the next road safety strategy for 2007-2012, which should see Ireland approaching the best practice levels of the best performing countries in Europe. I commend the amended motion to the House.

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