New Garda power to arrest disqualified drivers to come into force – Butler

Fine Gael TD for Meath West, Ray Butler, has said that new powers for An Garda Síochána, allowing them to arrest people who drive while disqualified from doing so will make roads in Co. Meath safer.

“I welcome the move by the Minister for Transport, Paschal Donohoe TD, to tackle the issue of drivers who continue to drive after being disqualified. This is a serious and unacceptable offence.  These people have been barred from driving, generally for road traffic offences, which means that they have posed a danger on the roads.

“In recent years approximately 10% of drivers disqualified in any given year were later subject to prosecution for driving while disqualified. 

“Almost 13,000 drivers were disqualified in each of 2013 and 2014, with nearly 6,000 disqualified to date in 2015. 

“The number of prosecutions for driving while disqualified was 1,286 in 2013, 1,392 in 2014, and 592 to date in 2015. 

‘Gardaí will now be able to arrest drivers driving while disqualified, and bring them to court as early as the next day, or even on the day of the arrest, if a court is sitting.

“I am confident that this will have a very significant deterrent effect for persons who drive while disqualified and make our roads safer.”