Judge Andrew Cody was told the man had made a €10,000 contribution, and instead imposed a €300 fine and a six-month ban - allowing the motorist to avoid the full mandatory penalty.
Questions are being raised about why some District Court judges are still letting motorists sidestep driving bans and penalty points by paying into the court poor box.
That’s despite a 2014 High Court decision that mandatory penalty-points laws override the District Court’s traditional discretion to accept donations instead of convictions.
Yet some judges continue to use that discretion.
In one recent case, a driver caught at 200 kilometres per hour on the M7 between Naas and Limerick avoided an expected two-year ban after offering a donation to the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation.
Judge Andrew Cody was told the man had made a €10,000 contribution, and instead imposed a €300 fine and a six-month ban - allowing the motorist to avoid the full mandatory penalty.
480 penalty point road traffic offences were struck out of court - benefiting 459 drivers - in the last three and a half years as a result of people donating to the poor box.
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