The State has been accused of “dodging the bullet” in not releasing a copy of the €80m Garda contract with the Go Safe consortium to the court.

Louth has emerged as the country’s speeding blackspot, with a staggering 95% of all motorists nationally who were driving over the limit in 120km/h zones over a four-year period detected in the border county.

Serious questions have been raised over the validity of speeding prosecutions brought to court following the use of Go Safe vans after a judge threw out another 17 cases yesterday.

Almost 100 motorists accused of speeding escaped any sanction after a judge dismissed all Go Safe cases against them yesterday.

Speed cameras are saving the lives of 23 people in Ireland every year.

The High Court has been asked to rule whether gardaí must provide a photograph of a car when they summons its driver to the District Court for speeding.

There was no sign of any old copies of The Beano or Dandy lying around when a judge inspected a speed camera van yesterday.

A judge has said what the men behind the glass do in their speed camera vans has long been shrouded in mystery, with people wondering if they spend their time reading the Beano or the Dandy.

The Xavier McAuliffe-led consortium, that operates the army of speed camera vans across the country, recorded operating profits of almost €50,000 per week last year.

A LOOPHOLE in the way speeding summonses are issued by private camera speed operators Go Safe could see thousands of people escape fines and penalty points.