Laois hotel worker drove despite being disqualified - Courts - Laois Nationalist

When he stopped it was discovered that there was no insurance cover on the car at the time and that the defendant had no driving licence

Image for illustration purposes only Photo: Courtesy the Irish Times

A MAN who was caught driving despite being automatically disqualified after accumulating excessive penalty points appeared before last week’s sitting of Portlaoise District Court.

Garda O’Keefe said that while on mobile patrol on the M7 at Ballydavis, Portlaoise on 7 July, his onboard automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system alerted him to a passing car that had no insurance.

When he stopped the defendant, Andy Jake Ragoobur (36), Heathfield, Dublin Road, Portlaoise, he found that there was no insurance cover on the car at the time and that the defendant had no driving licence.

Solicitor Mark O’Sullivan said that his client was unaware that he had accumulated the maximum permittable penalty points at the time that effectively disqualified him from driving. Despite this, he said that when Garda O’Keefe stopped him, he had an insurance policy in place on the car.

He said his client works in Ballyfin hotel and was asking the court to be as lenient as possible and to exercise its discretion and not impose a disqualification.

Judge Andrew Gubbins convicted Mr Ragoobur of the offence, fined him €200 and allowed him six months to pay the fine.