Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the presence of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and the discussions I have had with him on this matter.

The reply from the Minister of State is fine in that it tells me everything I know about the speed detection system but that is not what I asked. I refer to information from the Department. In 2012, 111 cases were thrown out at Naas District Court. This has nothing to do with what has happened in the past couple of weeks because it has been ongoing since 2009. In 2012 alone, 936 cases were thrown out of court across the country. It is not today or yesterday that this problem began. The law as it is constructed is definitely not seen to be fair. If a person can say in court that he or she did not receive the necessary documentation in the post, based on the figures I have given, the court will likely come down on the side of that person and decide that it was probably not received. As a result, 1,393 cases since 2009 have been thrown out. I do not know how this situation can be resolved.

At a meeting of the transport committee this morning my proposal was accepted that both Departments as well the Garda Síochána and legal practitioners should come to the committee to discuss what is a fundamental issue of road safety and also an issue to do with the fairness of the law. For example, I may have received three penalty points because I accepted the notice and the accompanying picture of my car as detected in County Limerick breaking the speed limit and I paid the fine, and the same notice was posted to another person who claimed in court he or she did not receive it and the case was thrown out. There is a gross unfairness which must be resolved. Penalty points are being attached to licences and insurance premiums are increased, and rightly so, but other people are getting off scot free. This situation needs to be addressed. I would like both Departments to co-operate on providing a more comprehensive answer.

The advice from the Garda Síochána is that recent court cases do not identify issues that would warrant a change in the legislation. The judge in Monaghan last week said the law was being brought into disrepute. What more needs to be said from the bench of an independent court before something is done?

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