Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am aware of the ongoing process and that there is work being done. At a meeting of the justice committee some weeks ago, I put this question to the Garda. Assistant Commissioner Michael Finn told us that as many as 119 solicitors had contacted the Garda about adverse consequences for clients. As the Minister said, nobody was imprisoned solely owing to a summons being issued instead of a fixed-charge notice. I am aware, however, of cases of individuals having been arrested. Such a case in County Kerry was reported in the Irish Examiner. The arrest entails a loss of reputation. There are many reported cases. Perhaps the lost penalty points led to a loss of a licence, which might have led to lost employment, among other implications. Considering the 119 cases raised by solicitors, there clearly are people who believe their circumstances are more severe than those encompassed by the current process being dealt with. The correspondence the Garda is sending to people is largely administrative and does not deal specifically with circumstances beyond the reimbursement of the fine and the relevant process in that regard, nor does it deal with making good any loss other than the fine. There seems to be no process. When I put this to Ms Josephine Feehily, she stated she was not aware of any process to deal with this issue.

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