State could face landslide of legal actions from penalty points blunder

The State could be facing a landslide of legal actions from motorists who have incurred losses due to the penalty points blunder, according to a north Dublin solicitor.

It was revealed this week that 14,700 people were wrongly prosecuted without a fixed notice penalty being issued.

Gardaí have now pledged to appeal those convictions to the circuit court to remove any penalties that were imposed.

“The quashing of penalty points and the repaying of fines may not mean much to someone who has lost a job as a result of wrongfully receiving a conviction,” said Rush solicitor Dermot McNamara.

“There are professional drivers who will have suffered loss of earnings through reaching 12 penalty points erroneously, or drivers who have been hit with massive rises in insurance premiums.

“When attempting to rectify this situation, the State will need to bear in mind that the suffering that this blunder has caused to some drivers will far outweigh the simple cancelling of fines or points.

“We would urge anyone affected to seek legal advice at the earliest possible opportunity.”