Funfair operator unaware he was driving in Laois with no insurance
The man was stopped in Portlaoise
A funfair operator caught driving without insurance has avoided a disqualification after making a charitable donation.
Harry McFadden(61) of Allenwood South, Allenwood, Naas, Co Kildare was stopped due to an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) alert on the R425 at Rathbrennan, Portlaoise on February 10 last.
Garda Noel Tier said he stopped the car when the ANPR alert indicated it was uninsured.
“He was surprised to hear that he had no insurance,” Garda Tier told the sitting of Portlaoise District Court.
Garda Tier said the man then rang his insurance company who confirmed he was insured. The man then rang them back to ask for proof.
“When they looked at it again they realised it had been cancelled because he missed a payment,” Said Garda Tier.
He said the man had a previous conviction for no insurance and no CVRT.
Solicitor Josephine Fitzpatrick said her client had been very cooperative. She said he had reinstated the insurance two days after the offence and she said it had been “very much a genuine error” on behalf of her client.
She explained that the insurance documentation would have gone to the man’s business address and not his home address.
“He runs a funfair business and there are other people driving,” she explained.
Ms Fitzpatrick said the prosecuting garda accepts the man’s evidence. She said her client had five employees.
Judge Andrew Cody said he had some discretion as the previous conviction was more than three years old.
He said he would not impose a disqualification if the man donated €2,500 to the Kildare Cara project which supports an orphanage in Kenya. Judge Cody said the man will get a tax break on the charitable donation if he pays it directly to the charity.
Ms FItzpatrick said her client was in a position to make the charitable donation. She said he was willing to pay it to the court.
Once the donation of €2,500 was made, Judge Cody said he wouldn’t disqualify the man and he imposed a €350 fine for driving without insurance.