78,000 drivers may have penalty points voided over legislation error
Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe said he could not rule out the prospect of a mass legal challenge as he spoke about defects in legislation on the penalty points regime.
The loophole affects drivers awarded penalty points since August, including 49 who were banned from driving as a result.
Fianna Fáil transport spokesman Timmy Dooley said he was concerned the blunder could trigger a mass quashing of penalty points and that proposed emergency laws would be hard to apply retrospectively.
“Potentially, incompetence could see up to 78,000 people having 200,000 penalty points written off,” said Mr Dooley. “There is a very real prospect this legislation will be challenged, perhaps by groups of people getting together. The sheer numbers involved makes you think this will end up in the Supreme Court at some stage.”
Mr Donohoe said two “technical errors” which officials failed to spot were included in the Road Traffic Act 2014, and mean penalty points have been awarded since August with no legal standing. Drivers who took their fines and paid them through the fixed penalty notice system have been hit by the error, but it does not have an impact on those who had points applied due to a court decision.
Mr Donohoe, who found out about the loophole on December 3, said he expected the courts to uphold the points awarded as he was introducing emergency legislation to retrospectively deal with the situation.
“I accept responsibility for this, I am the incumbent minister in the department,” said Mr Donohoe. “Lessons have been learned. There will be no interruption to the enforcement of road traffic offences under the penalty points system.
“My department had concerns in relation to two issues that they discovered in current legislation involving fixed charge notices/ penalty points system and sought advice from the Office of the Attorney General to clarify the position and provide a legal approach to addressing the matters arising.”
Transport spokesman for Sinn Féin Dessie Ellis said the errors were a “disaster”, adding that people may use the controversy as a “way out” to escape points.
The emergency legislation intended to deal with the situation will be brought before the Dáil on Tuesday.
