Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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273. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if drivers disqualified in court who fail to produce their licences are guilty of an offence; the section of legislation that provides for this offence; if this has been communicated to the Courts Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28070/15]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Section 22 of the Road Traffic Act 2002 (the 2002 Act), as amended by section 63 of the Road Traffic Act 2010, requires a person who it is alleged has committed an offence or has been charged with the commission of an offence under the Road Traffic Acts to produce to the court his or her driving licence or learner permit, and provide a legible copy of that licence or learner permit, on the first date he or she is due to appear before the court or on a subsequent date at the discretion of the presiding judge. This  provision extends to those who are convicted of a road traffic offence which results in a disqualification in court. Under Section 22(2) of the 2002 Act, it is an offence for a person to fail to produce his or her driver licence or learner permit or a legible copy of that driver licence or learner permit when appearing in court.  It would appear that this offence has only been commenced to date in relation to certain penalty point offences. My officials are currently examining how best to commence this subsection and subsection 22 (3)  to ensure that it applies to all road traffic offences whereby a person is required to produce their licence in Court.

Furthermore, it should be noted that it is a requirement under Statutory Instrument No. 6 of 2013 for a driver who has been disqualified to surrender their licence to the licensing authority i.e. the National Driver Licence Service and failure to do so is an offence.

It is also an offence for a disqualified driver to drive while disqualified and I have recently signed an order commencing new powers for An Garda Síochána to allow them to arrest people who drive while disqualified. The introduction of this new provision provides An Garda Síochána with the necessary power to deal swiftly with this offence which carries with it a fine not exceeding €5,000 or up to 6 months imprisonment or both.

With regard to the Courts Service, it is my understanding that the provision whereby a person is obliged to bring their licence to court has been brought to the attention of all District Court Justices. An arrangement has been put in place between An Garda Síochána and the Courts Service to facilitate the bringing of prosecutions for the non-production of a driver licence in the circumstances where the relevant offence provision has been commenced.