Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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184. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to link the Courts Service database to the national vehicle driver file. [20331/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Master Licence Record is a substantial ICT project costing an estimated €4million over a three-year period, which will entail linking the vehicle and driving licence database of the National Vehicle Driver File. The project will facilitate the application of penalty points to driving licences, thereby improving the effectiveness of road traffic enforcement measures. I can inform the Deputy that work is underway in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport to progress this project. To enable the Master Licence Record, multiple system and process changes will need to be implemented across a number of organisations, including the Courts Service, which will take some time to design and develop.

The Master Licence Record project stems from recommendations contained in the Garda Síochána Inspectorate’s report ‘The Fixed Charge Processing System – A 21st Century Strategy’ (February 2014). The Criminal Justice (Fixed Charge Processing System (FCPS)) Working Group is responsible for monitoring and overseeing progress on all FCPS recommendations, including progress on the Master Licence Record project. This Working Group is a multi-agency group, comprising representatives from the following Government Departments and public bodies: Departments of Justice and Equality and Transport, Tourism and Sport; An Garda Síochána; Courts Service; Road Safety Authority; Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions; the Revenue Commissioners; the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government; and the Office of the Attorney General. The Working Group met most recently on 26 April 2017 and the provision of a progress report on the Master Licence Record project is a standing agenda item at the Group's meetings.

A progress report was recently submitted to me from the Working Group on 2016 activity. 22 of the 37 Inspectorate recommendations have been fully implemented to date, with 5 additional recommendations on track for delivery by Summer 2017. Work on the remaining recommendations is ongoing and the majority of these recommendations are medium-long-term in nature, including the implementation of the Master Licence Record project.