Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

The short reply to the Senator's question is the local authority. However, I wish to give a comprehensive response to the House regarding this amendment.

The development of the support system for the penalty points system involved significant and ongoing consultation with all agencies including the Garda Síochána, the Courts Service, the vehicle registration unit of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The system involved the establishment of data linkages between the national driver file and the relevant IT systems in the Garda Síochána and the Courts Service.

An intrinsic part of the system is that all endorsements of penalty points on a licence record and all disqualifications are recorded on the national driver file. As I said earlier on another amendment, while that information is with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, we have access to it, as will the road safety authority.

There were further allegations recently of loopholes in the penalty points system and some inaccurate statements reported in the media, although I am not accusing Senator Paddy Burke of that, about the operation of the system. I want to clarify the position on the penalty points disqualification procedure. A driver who accumulates 12 penalty points is disqualified for a period of six months under section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 2002. In accordance with section 5 of that Act, a driver is automatically notified by the vehicle registration unit of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, on behalf of the Department of Transport, that he or she has reached 12 penalty points and disqualification will be effective 28 days from the date of that notice.

As I said at the outset and to answer the question, the notification will also direct the person to surrender his or her licence to the appropriate licensing authority within 14 days of the date of the disqualification. It is an offence, therefore, under section 5 of the Road Traffic Act 2002, not to surrender a driving licence to a licensing authority. At the same time the disqualification notice is sent to the Garda Commissioner, the authorised officer of the relevant motor tax office and the Department of Transport. I understand details of such disqualifications are entered on the PULSE system. Upon expiry of the period allowed for the surrender of the driving licence, a notice is issued by the vehicle registration unit to the Garda informing it whether the licence has been surrendered.

It is an offence under section 38 of the Road Traffic Act 1961 to drive without a driving licence. To suggest, therefore, that a person can continue to drive while disqualified because the Garda does not know he or she is disqualified is not tenable given the notification procedure in place. Notification of payment of a fixed charge from the Garda Síochána or a conviction from the Courts Service in respect of any penalty points offence to the vehicle registration unit results in points being recorded on the licence record on the national driver file and the automatic notification of penalty points incurred and the total number of penalty points on a person's record.

To give the Senator some statistics, at 28 April, 36 drivers had already served a disqualification period of six months, 20 licence holders were disqualified and a further three drivers are in the process of being disqualified and will be required to surrender their licence to the relevant authority within 14 days of the disqualification becoming active.

I hope that clarifies the position for the Members present and the wider public. I would point out, however, that the Garda Síochána was never involved in either the surrender of driving licences or the endorsement of licences. Where a person is disqualified by the courts, driving licences were always surrendered through the courts to licensing authorities and the disqualification noted on the driver record. To suggest, therefore, that drivers go to Garda stations to have their licence endorsed is a fundamental departure from the current system of recording disqualifications and would place an intolerable and unnecessary administrative burden on the Garda. We all want to ensure that gardaí are on the beat and we should use the resources we have rather than have them involved in further administrative duties. In the circumstances, and on the basis of the response I have given, I hope Senator Burke will consider withdrawing the amendment.