A 42-year-old Czech national received a six-year driving ban and 150 hours of community service in lieu of a custodial sentence at Carrick-on-Suir District Court on Thursday last.
Petr Mate, with an address at 14, Sycamore Close, Greenhill, Carrick-on-Suir, was brought before the court, having pleaded guilty to driving a red Toyota Avensis without motor insurance on March 3rd 2016.
In evidence, Garda Damien Rafter said he had taken note of the vehicle in Carrick at 12.30pm on the aforementioned date and then proceeded to the defendant’s house to notify him of said detection. The date of the insruance’s cancellation/expiry date had been March 1st, Garda Rafter added.
The court was told that the defendant had previous convictions of a motoring hue, having been previously charged for driving without insurance in June 2007 (which led to a one-year disqualification) for making a false declaration in 2009, which led to a €500 fine and a subsequent hit and run incident which had led to a further two-year disqualification.
With the assistance of a translator in court, the defendant heard his defence as presented by Solicitor Mr Michael Quirk, who said the defendant realised he “wasn’t entitled to drive on the occasion in question and that he wished to apologise to the court for this”.
The defendant is currently working in Fethard, 30 kilometres from Carrick-on-Suir and is the father of a two-year-old, while his partner and he are expecting twins come the Spring. He currently earns €250 per week, with Mr Quirk adding that “the work situation isn’t sustainable if he cannot travel”.
Should the defendant not fulfil the terms imposed by the court, Judge Finn ordered a five-month prison sentence to be activated, should all come to all.