Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

Anybody who has accumulated 12 penalty points should not drive and he or she should surrender his or her licence. The legislation governing this is the direct responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and it states clearly if the driver is brought before a court, the licence must be handed into the court and the judge should so order. I am not sure whether that has happened in all cases. The Deputy is correct that anybody who accumulates 12 penalty points is disqualified automatically and his or her licence should be handed up. Some motorists are of the view that if they do not hand up their licence, they can still drive but that is not true. It would be no harm if a message was sent to these people that they could be in serious trouble with their insurance company if they drive with a disqualified licence. However, the matter was raised during the discussion on the graduated driving licences and it will be dealt with more explicitly in the proposed legislation.

See this speech in context