Vincent Browne fined for holding mobile phone while driving
Journalist and broadcaster Vincent Browne was fined €300 in his absence today when he forgot to turn up to court to face prosecution for driving a car while holding a mobile phone.
Judge Alan Mitchell ordered that the fine must be paid within three months otherwise the host of TV3's flagship current affairs programme will be jailed for five days in default.
A summons had been issued for Browne to come to Dublin District Court to face a charge for holding a mobile phone while driving a car, on the M50 at Ballymount, in Dublin, on May 14 last year, contrary to Section 3.1 of the 2006 Road Traffic Act.
His name, date of birth and an address at Coliemore Road, Dalkey, Co. Dublin were called out by the court registrar during the brief proceedings but Browne was not there and had no representation.
Judge Mitchell then proceeded to deal with the case without him and imposed the fine.
Browne, a 68-year-old qualified barrister, had been holding a mobile phone while driving a '05-reg Mitsubishi Colt near the TV3 studios.
The journalist who is also a columnist with The Irish Times and The Sunday Business Post, sold his Victorian semi-detached home at Coliemore Road in 2011 to pay off debts accrued from the establishment of Village magazine which he founded in 2004.
Last month, on Tonight with Vincent Browne, he grilled Luke 'Ming' Flanagan, Independent TD for Roscommon-South Leitrim, on the issue of his penalty points – for using a mobile phone while driving – getting wiped.
The Road Traffic Act 2006 created a new offence of holding a mobile while driving a vehicle in a public place but does not apply to members of the emergency services acting in the course of their duties.
A person has 28 days from the date of the issue of a fixed charge notice to pay the fine. If it is not paid within 28 days, the charge is increased by 50 per cent and if it is still unpaid after a further 28 days, court proceedings are initiated and result in stiffer penalties.
When contacted this evening, Browne confirmed that he was the defendant in question and that he had known about the proceedings.
“I had it in my diary but I completely forgot, I rang my daughter who is a barrister, she was unable to go over to court,” he said.
Another lawyer went over but by that time the case had been dealt with, Browne explained.
“I was aware of it, that is not an issue,” he said adding that he had no problems with his prosecution being dealt with in his absence or the outcome. “No, it is quite fair, quite legitimate,” the journalist said.
When asked what he had been doing at the time of the offence, he replied: “I do not know, I suppose I was making a phone call.”
