Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I cannot accept the amendment. This proposal would add a passport to the possible details that could be captured with vehicle ownership records. I appreciate the thinking behind the amendment, but it would not work. We are trying to capture identifiers - a driver number, if available, or a PPS number if there is no driver number - so that we can link vehicle ownership records to existing or future driving licence records. This will help us to ensure that, for example, fixed-charge notices are delivered to the correct addresses. The driver number, if available, will give us a direct link to the existing driving licence record. Where a person does not have a driving licence record, he or she will not have a driver number, but if we capture the PPS number and the person later obtains a driving licence, we will be able to make the link.

Collecting a passport record would not help us, because we do not have anything to link it to a driving licence record. There is also the fact that, as written, the amendment would mean capturing the passport, not the passport number. Even if we had a way of linking passport numbers to the driver licensing records, the amendment would not work.

I am satisfied that we have adequate cover through the use of driving licence numbers and PPS numbers in the Bill. This will help to ensure that people receive fixed-charge notices, penalty points and disqualifications, as appropriate.