Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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281. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will report on the current procedure used by the RSA for notifying An Garda Síochána in relation to cases where drivers who are disqualified do not surrender their licences or learner permit to the RSA; and the plans of the RSA to put in place an electronic system of notification for non-surrender of licences or learner permits to assist the gardaí in expediting enforcement in these cases. [13308/23]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Failing to surrender a licence following disqualification is an offence and is a matter for the Garda Síochána.

It is an offence to drive while disqualified, whether or not the licence has been surrendered. Once a driver is disqualified, their licence is no longer valid. In a significant share of disqualification cases, the driver in question has not had a licence at all.

The issue of key concern to me as Minister and to the Road Safety Authority (RSA) is whether a driver who has been disqualified continues to drive on our roads. Any individual who has been disqualified from driving is aware that they are no longer entitled to drive. on our roads.

To this end, information is already provided to the Gardai Síochána by the Department of Transport, by electronic transfer, to indicate if a driving licence or learner permit has been surrendered as a result of a penalty point disqualification. The Department and the RSA also facilitate the matching and sharing of data on court ordered disqualifications. Improvements have been made to the system that shares details of disqualifications with the Garda Síochána.

As a result, using the mobility app, the Gardaí can detect if a driver is driving while disqualified, regardless of whether they have surrendered their licence or learner permit. Ultimately this remains part of the enforcement work by the Garda Síochána to keep our road safe.