Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 87: To ask the Minister for Transport if his attention has been drawn to the practice whereby dangerous drivers who accrue penalty points trade these points with other drivers; if he considers the penalties for such an offence offer a sufficient deterrent; if his attention has further been drawn to the fact that the practice of speed cameras photographing car licence plates is flawed in that it identifies only the car and not the actual driver of the speeding vehicle; his plans to address this anomaly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21212/05]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The endorsement of penalty points may result from one of two situations. These occur where a person is convicted of the commission of an offence that attracts penalty points or where a person decides voluntarily to pay a fixed charge, which results in the matter not being referred to the courts for determination. If the motorist pays the fixed charge he-she will be accepting the consequence that the prescribed number of penalty points will be endorsed on his or her driving licence record.

In certain instances, it is not possible to identify the driver of a vehicle where an alleged offence is being committed. This situation arises where the speeding offence is detected by a speed camera. In such circumstances, a notice is issued by the Garda Síochána to the registered owner of the vehicle concerned. This notice conveys details of the alleged offence and indicates that no prosecution will be initiated if the driver pays a fixed charge within a maximum 56-day period.

This notice also conveys to the registered owner that if he or she was not driving or otherwise using the vehicle at the time of the commission of the offence they should furnish the name and address of the person who was driving the vehicle to the gardaí. It is an offence for a registered owner to supply information that is, to his or her knowledge, false or misleading in respect of the notification of the name and address of a driver. That offence attracts a maximum penalty of €1000.

In addition, section 115 of the Road Traffic Act 1961 provides that where the Road Traffic Acts generally apply a requirement on a person to give information in relation to a licence or a vehicle and the person furnishes false or misleading information, he or she is committing an offence for which the penalty is a maximum fine of €1,500 and-or a six month prison sentence.

Section 21 of the Road Traffic Act 2002 provides an appropriate and comprehensive basis for the use of apparatus, including cameras, for the purpose of establishing evidence in respect of a range of traffic offences, including speeding offences. Operational decisions relating to the use of technology to support enforcement are matters for the determination of the Garda Commissioner.