Teen BMW driver who had no N plates in Offaly town banned again

Young motorist who admitted not displaying insurance in Edenderry failed to appear before Tullamore District Court

Published 9th Jul 2026, 21:00 BST Driving ban and fines imposed at Tullamore District Court | Tribune Pictures Young motorist who admitted not displaying insurance in Edenderry failed to appear before Tullamore District Court Sign up to our Offaly Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Offaly Live within your account.

A NINETEEN-year-old driver who failed to appear in court this week after pleading guilty last month to several motoring offences has been banned for a year and fined €1,000.

Vasile Buguta, The Sycamores, Edenderry, had been summonsed for driving without a licence, failing to produce a licence or a learner permit, not displaying insurance and not displaying an N plate, the plate required by novice drivers.

Pleas of guilty to the offences were entered at Tullamore District Court on June 3 last and finalisation of the matter was adjourned.

When the summons was called there was no appearance for Mr Buguta and Judge Andrew Cody asked to hear the facts.

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Garda Pat McGee said he stopped a Dublin registered 2008 BMW at O'Connell Square in Edenderry on October 11 last year driven by the accused.

There was no insurance displayed and a fixed charge notice was issued.

Garda McGee said the driver showed him a photograph of a foreign driving licence and added that it would be subject to N plates being displayed.

The garda said Mr Buguta said he didn't want an Irish licence and didn't have to look for one. Documents were not subsequently produced.

At Tullamore District Court in March Mr Buguta was convicted in his absence of driving without insurance after a garda said he was prosecuted after a report was taken on a material damage collision at Tesco, Dublin Road, Edenderry on September 26 last year.

At that court sitting, Garda Damien Fleming said no insurance was produced covering the date of the collision but a policy was taken out afterwards on October 9. He added that Mr Buguta had no previous convictions.

The accused was fined €750 and banned from driving for two years by Judge Andrew Cody.

This week, along with the one-year disqualification, a fine of €500 was imposed for having no licence and another fine of €500 was imposed for not displaying insurance.