Cecilia Keaveney (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 555: To ask the Minister for Transport if he will make a statement on the issue of the way in which Northern drivers are getting away with committing offences in this jurisdiction while drivers from the Republic are similarly free to breach legislation in the North. [10221/05]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The commission of any offence established under the Road Traffic Acts may lead to the pursuit of a criminal conviction. The only general exception to that principle occurs where a person, having been accused of the commission of an offence that attracts a fixed charge, chooses to pay such a charge, which in turn means that a prosecution will not be pursued.

Where a person is convicted of an offence, the person is required to submit to a penalty, that is, the payment of a fine or imprisonment. In addition, the person may be subject to the imposition of either a driving disqualification or penalty points.

The general question of the degree to which penalties, disqualifications and penalty points can be applied to persons from other jurisdictions who have been convicted of offences must be considered across the range of penalties and other deterrents established in the Road Traffic Acts in consultation with authorities either under the auspices of the EU or on a bilateral basis.

The question of the development of arrangements for the pursuit of fines imposed on persons from other jurisdictions is, I understand, the subject of a separate question to my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

Section 9 of the Road Traffic Act 2002 provides the basis for judicial recognition of the EU Convention on Driving Disqualifications. That convention provides that where a disqualification is imposed by a member state on a person from another member state, in respect of any one of a number of particular behaviours, for example, drink driving or dangerous driving, the state where the convicted person resides may apply the disqualification. I understand that the authorities in the UK are considering adopting similar legislation. When that process is finalised, arrangements to facilitate the operation of the provisions of the convention on a bilateral basis between the two countries can be pursued.

The authorities in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain are considering the issue of the introduction of a scheme to provide for the mutual recognition of penalty points between the United Kingdom and Ireland. This consideration is being pursued under the auspices of the British Irish Council, BIC.

The Department of the Environment — Northern Ireland — and the Department for Regional Development — Northern Ireland — are the lead agencies for transport and road safety related matters under BIC and they have been giving consideration to this matter. This Department has referred the matter to the Attorney General for his advice given the complex legal issues surrounding this area.

The difficulty for the Garda in accessing foreign vehicle registration information, following a detection by camera, is similar to the position encountered by enforcement agencies across Europe. Discussions are taking place at EU level in this respect but are still at an early stage.