Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this matter on the Adjournment. I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality.

When a relevant offence is detected, the registered owner of the vehicle involved receives a fixed charge notice. I know that is stating the obvious but I wish to set out the process. The address to which the fixed charge notice is posted to is either the one supplied by the driver, when intercepted by An Garda Síochána, or the address listed on the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport's national vehicle and driver file or NVDF.

The Minister has been informed by the Garda authorities, who are responsible for enforcement of the legislation, that ordinary post is utilised to serve fixed charge notices, in accordance with section 25 of the Interpretation Act 2005. This provides that service of a document may be effected by post and that such service is deemed to have been effected at the time at which a letter would ordinarily have been delivered, unless the contrary is proved. The Minister is also advised that road traffic legislation provides that, in a prosecution relating to an unpaid fixed charge notice, it shall be presumed that the relevant fixed charge notice has been served, or caused to be served, and that a payment pursuant to the relevant notice has not been made, unless the contrary is shown.

In so far as the use of registered post is concerned, the Minister will convey the Senator's views on this matter to the Garda authorities and to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. However, the Minister for Justice and Equality would note that use of registered post would not overcome objections that notices were received by persons other than those for whom they were intended, or that persons would seek to avoid service by declining to accept such registered notices. There would also be logistical and cost implications associated with issuing what could be more than 400,000 registered letters annually, in circumstances where a majority of persons receive and pay the fixed charge notices under current arrangements with no difficulties.

The Senator will also be aware that section 44 of the Road Traffic Act 2010 will introduce what is commonly referred to as a "third payment option" into the fixed charge system. Under this mechanism a person, who is summonsed to court for a fixed charge offence, will have a final option to pay a fixed charge not later than seven days before the court date on which the charge is to be heard. Without reading the rest of the statement, the central point has been made.