Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 264: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the procedures which will allow a motorist who feels they have been wrongly awarded penalty points on the roadside to subsequently appeal to the local Garda chief superintendent to have these points removed from their licence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20064/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I am informed by the Garda authorities that penalty points are not awarded on the roadside. Where a person is issued with a fixed charge notice for a penalty point offence, the notice sets out the amount of the fixed charge and the penalty points applicable to the offence. The person has an option to pay the fixed charge and as part of the payment process completes a declaration that he/she is aware of the contents of the notice. Where a payment is made An Garda Síochána notifies the Minister for Transport who is responsible for the endorsement of penalty points on the entry in the licence record relating to the person. Where the person named in the notice opts not to pay the fixed charge then a prosecution is taken and where a person is convicted the Courts Service is responsible for notifying the Minister for Transport, as in all cases the decision of the District Court may be appealed.

I am further informed that an individual may write to the Garda Síochána Fixed Charge Processing Office at 89-94 Capel Street, Dublin 1 and request the removal of penalty points where: the individual named on the notification from An Garda Síochána to the Minister for Transport was not the person who committed the offence; the alleged offence had no legal status; two notifications from An Garda Síochána to the Minister for Transport issued in respect of the same offence; and the individual named on the notification from An Garda Síochána to the Minister for Transport was admitted to the Juvenile Diversion Programme (Part 4 of the Children Act 2001) for the alleged offence.