Judge issues warning to county's uninsured drivers

A district court judge sitting in County Roscommon has sent out a strong warning that from December 1st he will not accept any excuses for drivers not having insurance.

Judge James Faughnan was speaking at a sitting of Roscommon District Court where several no insurance cases came before him and where many of the accused claimed that their policies had been cancelled without their knowledge.

In one case he heard that insurance had been produced following a requirement by the gardaí, but it did not cover the period in question. The policy had in fact been cancelled. The solicitor involved said there had been significant medical problems and his client was not aware that the insurance had lapsed.

Judge Faughnan described the doctor’s letter produced as “an insult” and said these types of letters needed to be vetted.

He went on to say that gardaí are now picking up cars through their automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system and nine out of 10 are not insured.

He said he was getting excuses that direct debits have been cancelled but “you either have it (insurance) or you don’t.” 

He added: “You would be watching your bank account and you would know about your money. The game is up on this stuff,” he warned. 

He set a deadline of December 1st, telling solicitors: “I’m giving you plenty of time.” 

He reiterated this warning in another no insurance case saying: “There will be no excuses. This is being done across the board. If you are in this country more than 24 hours and have a car you know well what you need to do.”