Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This follows on from discussions we have had. This amendment relates to the appeals officer and confirms that the points shall be assigned when he or she considers that the alleged infringement is of a serious nature. The serious infringement referred is defined in the 2020 statutory instrument for licence holders, as well as in this Bill for masters.

The legal position is that the amendment confuses EU and Irish law, as well as civil and criminal law, and the difference between serious and non-minor offences in Irish law. The two standards referred to are entirely different and the amendment serves only to confuse the issue. Accordingly, this proposal was not accepted in the context of SI 318/2020, as regards the licence holder penalty points system. With the same logic, I do not propose to accept it in the context of this Bill either for a masters' penalty points system.