Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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183. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she has discussed with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport plans to improve the driving-related convictions being recorded on licences in courts. [20330/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Road traffic legislation falls within the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Mr. Shane Ross, T.D. Minister Ross commenced Section 33 of the Road Traffic Act 2016 on 13 April 2017.

The Deputy will be aware that Section 33 of the Act of 2016 amends section 22 of the 2002 Road Traffic Act to ensure that drivers convicted in court produce their driving licence in order that penalty points can be recorded on the driver file. The Act of 2016 provides for a new requirement for the presiding judge to ask a driver convicted in court for a driving offence to produce his/her licence to the court. The court will then record the licence details, or the fact that it was not produced, with failure to produce a licence an offence. This provision will tighten up existing procedures to enable penalty points to be matched to driving licence records following conviction in court.

Minister Ross and I are in ongoing contact in relation to road safety and road traffic enforcement matters and our officials meet regularly, via a number of different groups and fora, including the Ministerial Committee on Road Safety, which both Minister Ross and I attended at its most recent meeting on 27th March.