Ministers will try to match North-South penalty points

MINISTER FOR Transport Noel Dempsey is to meet the North’s Minister for the Environment Arlene Foster in an attempt to overcome difficulties with mutual recognition of motorists’ penalty points, by authorities north and south of the Border.

Mr Dempsey said he had initially hoped mutual recognition of the separate systems could be agreed by this autumn and in place by the end of the year. However he had been told that administrative difficulties meant it could now be three or four years before the difficulties were solved.

Addressing a North-South parliamentary meeting attended by politicians and officials from the Northern Ireland Executive in Leinster House yesterday, Mr Dempsey said the measure was urgently required to combat serious motoring offences, chiefly speeding, by drivers who knew they could not be given points.

He said discussions with the British under secretary of state for transport Jim Fitzpatrick had revealed that the penalty points system was different between Northern Ireland and Britain and it was felt there would have to be convergence of those systems first, before an effective merge with the system in the Republic.

Part of the problem centres around differing numbers of penalty points applicable for similar offences in the different jurisdictions. The situation also arises in the EU where progress towards mutual recognition is slow.

Commenting on the timescale, Mr Dempsey said he still hoped mutual recognition could be achieved “as quickly as possible” and he said he would meet Ms Foster on June 10th.

Mr Dempsey also told the politicians – members of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Belfast Agreement – that both governments had identified a range of areas for practical co- operation in relation to transport.

He gave as an example the railway between Dublin and Belfast which he said “needs development”, and the City of Derry Airport for which the Government continued to provide support. He mentioned Dublin’s contribution of €580 million towards upgrading the A5 road and the Belfast to Larne route.

Mr Dempsey was questioned about the route of the proposed A5 by Sinn Féin MP Pat Doherty and Fine Gael TD Joe McHugh, who expressed concern that the 88km dual carriageway would be met with a single carriageway road from the Border to Monaghan town.

Mr McHugh also claimed the Minister had failed to have Southern engineers co-opted to the route selection committee for the proposed road, which he said was an election promise.

However while Mr Dempsey said he could see no benefit to having Southern engineers on the route selection committee, he said the proposal for a single carriageway south of the Border was under review by the National Roads Authority.

An assertion by Mr Dempsey that plans were under way to reopen the two remaining closed Border roads, was contradicted by Senator Cecilia Keaveney who said the Minister had forgotten about a crossing between Muff, Co Donegal, and Derry.