Driver stopped by gardaí in Longford fined €400 for having no insurance

A man charged with having no insurance on his vehicle has been fined €400, following a short hearing at Longford District Court last week.

Anthony Barrett, formerly of 83 Ardnacassa Avenue, Longford, appeared before Judge Bernadette Owens last Tuesday morning.

The court heard how Detective Garda Damien McGovern stopped Mr Barrett on March 24, 2020, at 10.30pm on Killashee Road.

Mr Barrett had no insurance displayed and opted to produce it at Longford Garda Station within ten days but failed to do so.

Sergeant Mark Mahon, for the state, told the court that Mr Barrett had eight previous convictions, one of which was for no insurance in February 2021, for an offence on April 1, 2020. He was fined €400.

He was also fined €250 and disqualified from driving for four years in July 2020 for an incident of dangerous driving on March 9, 2020. He was also fined €250 and disqualified from driving for two years for failure to provide a breath specimen.

“This incident was some 14 days later,” Judge Owens noted.

Solicitor for the accused, Ms Bríd Mimnagh, told the court that her client had been insured in a vehicle, which he’d crashed and written off.

“He rang his insurance company to transfer the insurance, but it didn’t come in until the 29th of March,” said Ms Mimnagh.

“He’s a young man with one child. He’s from Galway and living with a partner in the Galway area now. He’s getting on well and any fine imposed today could be paid forthwith.”

Judge Owens, having heard the evidence, noted that Mr Barrett wasn’t disqualified from driving on the date of this incident.

“I’ve also noted he had a car that was insured and tried to transfer his insurance,” she said.

With that in mind, she fined Mr Barrett €400, which was paid in court that afternoon. A charge of failure to produce insurance was marked and taken into consideration.