Foreign drivers cost State €2m in unpaid fines

THE State is losing almost €2 million because there is no mechanism for imposing fines on foreign motorists driving here.

The imposition of penalty points is equally ineffectual when it comes to motorists who do not hold Irish driving licences.

More than 22,000 non-Irish drivers were issued with penalty points since the system was introduced two years ago. The Department of Transport concedes that there is no system to impose an effective sanction for speeding and many other motoring offences unless the offender holds a licence issued by an Irish local authority.