Fines totalling almost €300k issued in court blitz on M50 toll dodgers
By Tom Tuite
Motorists accused of dodging M50 tolls were hit with fines totalling almost €300,000 today.
Some 26 cases received hefty fines ranging from €3,000 to €16,000 handed down by Judge John Brennan at Dublin District Court.
None of the defendants whose cases were dealt with attended their hearings or co-operated with the National Roads Authority (NRA) which Judge Brennan described as an aggravating factor.
All of the prosecutions, except for one case, featured five sample counts and downloaded images were tendered as evidence by NRA officials. They showed the passage of the offending vehicles on the barrier-free motorway on dates from November 2016 until May last year, as well as proof of ownership.
On top of the fines, which added up to €297,000, each defendant was ordered to pay €750 in prosecution costs.
The judge said the fines must be paid within six months in most cases. About 22 cases were adjourned to allow those motorists engage with the NRA and six other motorists had their prosecutions withdrawn or struck out having resolved their cases.
Prosecution counsel Thomas Rice BL (instructed by Pierse Fitzgibbon Solicitors) said the court could impose fines of up to €5,000 per charge.
The standard M50 toll for an unregistered private car is €3.10 and must be paid before 8pm the following day or else there is a €3.00 penalty for having missed the deadline.
Motorists have 14 days from the date of issue to pay for the journey and the initial penalty; otherwise a further penalty of €41 is applied. After a further 56 days there is an additional penalty charge of €103 and if it remains unpaid legal proceedings follow with the possibility of a court fine of up to €5,000 as well as a jail term of six-months, or both, per offence.
The registered owner of a vehicle is responsible even if they were not driving the vehicle.
