Written answers

Wednesday, 31 January 2007

Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform

Road Traffic Offences

8:00 am

Photo of Olivia MitchellOlivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 247: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if, in view of the hundreds of road traffic cases which are thrown out due to the lapse of time he will ensure that a special Traffic Court is set up prior to the introduction of the national speed camera scheme; and if he will report on the assessment of the viability of the project by the Courts Service promised in a previous parliamentary question. [1033/07]

Photo of Michael McDowellMichael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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As I stated in reply to Question no. 104 of the 9th November 2006, my colleague, the Minister for Transport, has raised this suggestion with me. The Secretary General of my Department subsequently brought the proposal to the attention of the Courts Service, which has now forwarded its views.

Traffic courts are held on a regular basis in Dublin. In the judgment of the Courts Service, however, there would not be a sufficient volume of cases to warrant a dedicated traffic court in Districts outside the Dublin Metropolitan Area. As the Deputy will appreciate, because each District Court is a court of local and limited jurisdiction, it can only deal with cases that occur within the District which it serves.

The levels and types of business coming before the courts are continually monitored to ensure that delays in hearing cases are kept to a minimum. Systems are reviewed to ensure that potential backlogs are detected early so that allocation of resources can be properly planned. It is a matter for the President of the District Court to decide how business will be allocated among the resources available in terms of both judges and accommodation.

Photo of Olivia MitchellOlivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 248: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if the proposed speed camera system will have automatic number plate recognition capability suitable for detecting and processing foreign registered vehicles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1034/07]

Photo of Michael McDowellMichael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Following the enactment of the Road Traffic Act 2006, the procurement procedure for the provision and operation of safety cameras by a service provider is underway. I am informed by the Garda authorities that it is intended that the service provider will be required to collect and process all data on speeding obtained by the mobile and fixed safety cameras used. The service provider will also be required to process data collected by the safety cameras currently operated by An Garda Síochána.

It is also intended that the service provider will provide all resources, including personnel, for the processing of data obtained for the purpose of verifying whether or not a speeding offence has taken place in each case and reading the licence plate of each vehicle identified as having been used to commit a speeding offence.

The use of specific technological capabilities such as automatic number plate recognition to identify and read the licence plate of each vehicle will not be a pre-requisite for the provision of the service.

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