Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing us to raise this issue on the Adjournment. We are of the view that there is a need for the Minister to review the circumstances surrounding the granting of an international haulage licence to a convicted drug dealer and also that this licence should be revoked with immediate effect.

This extraordinary case has been bubbling up for a number of years but it has recently begun to come to the boil. Many aspects of the case relate to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. However, there are some which relate to the Department of Transport. The latter took the major decision to grant Kieran Boylan, a notorious drug dealer with convictions in Britain and Ireland, a licence to conduct his business as a haulage contractor. This matter was brought to the attention of the Department of Transport in 2003 and 2008 - on both occasions a licence was granted - by which time the gentleman in question had been convicted in respect of attempting to supply €750,000 worth of heroine and cocaine that was seized in the docklands area of my constituency. On 31 July 2008 a nolle prosequi was entered by the Attorney General in very strange circumstances. Having been granted a licence in September 2008, the same gentleman applied to have the name which appears on it changed into the Irish form. This all took place despite the fact that there were clear breaches of the rules and guidelines surrounding the granting of international haulage licences.

As everyone is aware, Mr. Boylan's convictions are of the most serious kind. Cocaine and heroine have caused a great deal of destruction among the communities my constituency and that of the Minister of State, Deputy Curran. To grant an international haulage licence to someone convicted of the crime of supplying drugs could only compound the problem. It is extraordinary that such a licence was granted without the most stringent examination being carried out in the first instance.

The Minister appeared to indicate that accurate information was not provided. He must provide the House with a full explanation with regard to what exactly transpired in this case. What were the circumstances in which the licence was initially granted and then renewed and transferred into the Irish version of the gentleman's name? What information did the Garda provide in respect of this matter? Was the Department misled? If so, why was that the case and who was responsible? The Minister must get to the bottom of this matter.

Pending the outcome of the full inquiry, the Minister has at his disposal sufficient prima facie evidence - in the form of his admission to the Department in respect of his convictions - that the man in question is not a suitable person to hold an international haulage licence. As a result, that licence should be revoked forthwith.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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This is an important, serious and disturbing case, at the heart of which lies the failure of the Government and the Departments of Transport and Justice, Equality and Law Reform to do their job. The Government, through those Departments, has failed to protect the public. As Deputy Costello stated, drugs destroy families and communities. It is unforgivable that Ministers failed to ensure adequate protocols were in place to check the records of those applying for international haulage licences for evidence of criminal convictions. The Government failed utterly to carry out such checks and also to protect the public. As a consequence, the drugs that were imported to this country via our ports - on lorries and by other means - will destroy many lives in the communities in which we live. The Government is has utterly failed with regard to its duty of care in this regard.

The litany of circumstances and situations relating to this case is unbelievable. For example, how can an applicant for an international haulage licence conceal the fact that he served a nine-month sentence in England in 2001 or that he had a conviction for dangerous driving in respect of which he had been disqualified from driving for two years? How could this individual be granted an international haulage licence before the end of his two-year driving ban? This man did not disclose that he had an existing conviction for dangerous driving. However, the authorities failed to uncover the relevant information in that regard. How in the name of God did he obtain the licence?

Why are applications for haulage licences not automatically referred to the Garda for its approval? Why was this man's licence not withdrawn by the Department of Transport in 2004 when, following a complaint, his previous convictions - including that relating to dangerous driving - came to light? The regulations are clear in this regard and state that such an offence will result in an automatic disqualification. The Department knew the position but did not disqualify this man and he continued to drive and carry out his business. Who is protecting this individual?

Good repute checks were carried out in respect of this man in 2006 and 2007. We have not been informed with regard to why these checks were carried out. The report we received does not comment on this aspect of the matter. Why did the Garda not respond to the Department in respect of the check carried out in 2006? How can such a failure to respond be acceptable? This gentleman is a convicted drug dealer who was sentenced in the Central Criminal Court in 2006 to five years in prison, with two years suspended. In such circumstances, how was it possible for him to renew his international road haulage licence in 2008?

The regulations to which I referred earlier clearly indicate that any person who has been charged with an indictable offence is not fit to hold an international haulage licence. However, such a licence was issued. This man had a conviction for dangerous driving but was still granted a licence. He had been convicted of an indictable offence but the Department gave him a licence and then did not revoke it.

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I agree with the points raised by Deputies Costello and O'Dowd. It appears the documentation released by the Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, leaves no doubt that members of the Garda Síochána misled officials of his Department regarding the granting of a licence to the individual in question. Equally disturbing is the ease with which the officials of the Department of Transport accepted the unsatisfactory answers provided by the Garda and granted the licence.

There is a cover-up in respect of this matter. Information had to be dragged out of the Garda at every turn regarding the man in question. There are inexplicable time lapses on the file relating to this matter and these must be addressed. In addition, a number of issues were not dealt with in the course of the application. Certain aspects of the case stink. We are seeking that answers be provided. We do not want inquiries or the issue to be fudged. The Minister for Transport was asked about this matter on Friday last and has still not made a decision in respect of it. Having regard to the facts already on file, I am of the view there is sufficient evidence to warrant the revocation of this man's licence with immediate effect.

What telephone conversations or meetings took place between members of the Garda Síochána and officials of the Department of Transport? Why was reference not made on the man's file to the serious charges relating to events at Dublin Port? The man in question served a total of seven and a half years in prison in Britain but this did not appear to be relevant. In addition, he passed a good repute test administered by the Department of Transport. The Minister for Transport stated that at no stage in the past had any prosecutions been taken against him in respect of his livelihood as a professional road transport operator. Would Deputy O'Dowd's point regarding the conviction for dangerous driving not be fundamental in that regard? At no stage in the past did the gardaí raise or link in any correspondence issues relating to his good repute as a professional road transport operator. A drug dealer passes a test of good repute? Then the fudge comes, that the constitutional right to earn a livelihood could not be taken away lightly. It has not been taken away at all, the opposite has happened, this man has been facilitated in what he has been proven to do in the international road haulage business having regard to his convictions.

Aspects of this are incredible and explanations must be provided by the Government. Ministerial responsibility must be seen to take effect and the licence must be revoked immediately.

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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A road haulage operator's licence is granted under section 2 of the Road Traffic and Transport Act 2006 and entitles the holder to carry on a road haulage business for hire or reward. Further statutory regulations govern various details regarding the application process. An international licence enables the holder to carry goods for hire and reward throughout Ireland and the European Union.

The core criteria for the grant of a road haulage operator's licence are contained in the European Communities (Merchandise Road Transport) Regulations 1991. These state that the applicant must satisfy the criteria of sound financial standing, good repute, and professional competence. Regulation 7 of these regulations sets down how the considerations to be taken into account when determining whether an applicant for a road haulage licence is of "good repute". These regulations also have a list of "relevant offences" outlined in the first schedule that are to be taken into account when deciding whether an applicant satisfies the requirements on good repute.

An application was received from the individual in question for an international road haulage operator's licence on 12 May 2008. The applicant indicated that he had one conviction on 15 February 2006 under section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act for an offence committed on 2 December 2003, for which he was sentenced to five years imprisonment with the last two years suspended. Section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 relates to the possession of controlled drugs for unlawful sale or supply. On inspection of all the accompanying documentation, all other aspects of the application, including accounts relating to financial standing, tax clearance certificate and accompanying documents and affidavits, were found to be in order.

When determining an application for a road haulage operator licence, regard shall be taken as to whether the applicant has relevant convictions in the immediate five year period preceding the application. On foot of the applicant's self declaration of his conviction in his application form, the Garda was requested to undertake a good repute check on 12 May 2008 on this individual. In addition, further clarification was sought from the Garda in June and again in July and August 2008 on foot of the responses received from them. On 30 July 2008, the Garda advised that no evidence was given at his trial that the applicant's haulage company was involved in the commission of the offences for which he was convicted, and that he had not come under notice for breaches of road transport legislation.

Arising from some press reports in August about the applicant, it was unclear to the Department whether there were other charges pending or if some charges previously mentioned had been struck out. Accordingly, the officials wrote again to the Garda Síochána in August asking it to indicate the Garda's view about the applicant's good repute and his suitability to be granted a licence.

In the response received at the end of August, the Garda indicated that the applicant had been charged with breaches of sections 3, 15, 15A of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 in the Circuit Criminal Court 29 on 15 February 2006. The judge sentenced him to five years' imprisonment on each charge backdated to 20 September 2005, with sentences to run concurrently. The response also said that the judge suspended the final two years of the sentence on condition that the individual in question entered a bond to keep the peace for a period of two years from the date of his release. The Garda made no comment on whether it regarded the applicant to be a person of good repute or not.

Following consideration of all the issues involved, a decision was then made by officials in the Department to grant the licence on the basis that there were insufficient grounds to refuse it and the Garda had not made any comment on the question of good repute. The decision took into account the criteria outlined in the regulations and the Garda responses to requests in that regard, as well as the wider issues surrounding the applicant's constitutional right to earn a livelihood, a right that could not be taken away lightly. The fact that the applicant had already served his sentence for the conviction on record, and that he had no further convictions since then, was also taken into account. In addition, the Garda had confirmed on 30 July 2008 that it had not taken prosecutions against the applicant related to his livelihood as a professional road transport operator.

Accordingly, the applicant was granted his international road haulage operator's licence on 4 September 2008. The licence is valid for five years.

The House will be aware that there has been some other media publicity in recent days concerning the individual in question. Those matters are the subject of a separate reviews by the appropriate authorities, including the Garda Ombudsman Commission. I should, however, add that the Minister for Transport is reviewing the legislation and criteria in this area, because the legal and constitutional issues in this area have proven to be difficult and complex and also arise in other licensing areas, such as taxi driver licensing. Also, in some cases the deciding authority is the relevant Department, Minister or other licensing authority while in other cases it is the Garda, for example in the case of taxi driving licences or intoxicating liquor licences.

Issues around the criteria for establishing good repute here have also arisen in other member states. The European Union is in the process of updating and consolidating the existing European legislation governing this area and this is nearing completion. This includes provisions regarding the establishment of an EU wide network of electronic databases which will include conviction information on every licensed operator. Member states will have clear rules allowing them to take convictions in other EU member states into account. The European Commission will be tasked with an examination of what constitutes relevant convictions and what weight will be apportioned to different types of convictions when deciding to award or revoke licences. When these new EU regulations are finalised, the appropriate legislation to implement them will be introduced.

The Minister for Transport is currently in the process of reviewing all aspects of the decision to award this licence to the individual in question. He has already received a preliminary report on this matter and a full report is being prepared for him. The Minister has referred this matter to the Attorney General for advice regarding the legal issues involved. In the circumstances, it would not be appropriate to make any further comment on this matter at this moment in time.