A DISQUALIFIED driver has been nabbed by gardaí for driving with a homemade insurance policy and drivers licence.

The motorist was detected by gardaí in Bandon in recent days, driving despite having been previously disqualified.

Now, the driver has been charged in connection with the most recent incident, which occurred in recent days.

Gardai said the driver “confidently produced a home made driving licence and insurance policy.”

Drivers who are disqualified have to hand over their licence until the disqualification is over.

Since 2015, gardaí have the power to arrest a driver caught driving while disqualified.

The penalty for driving while disqualified is a fine up to a maximum of €5,000 and/or a maximum six months in prison.

According to gardaí, it is not easy to establish how many drivers drive while disqualified. However, when the power of arrest was granted to gardaí in 2015, the then Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe said that in recent years, approximately 10% of drivers disqualified in any given year were later subject to prosecution for driving while disqualified.

Garda sources said however that it is unusual to find someone with a homemade driving licence and insurance policy, particularly as it more difficult in recent years to forge a licence.

Meanwhile, gardaí are also warning drivers to be especially careful when purchasing insurance, following recent revelations of ghost insurance brokers targeting motorists.

Superintendent Pat Lehane advised motorists to deal with reputable brokers to ensure their insurance policies are valid.

The Central Bank are also urging motorists to be cautious.

“Ghost brokers usually operate in one of two ways: they forge policy documents and sell them to you, while pretending to work for, or act on behalf of, a legitimate insurance company,” an explainer from the Central Bank outlined.

“(Or) they purchase a real policy from a legitimate insurance company, but they change important information about you, such as your age, driving experience, no claims history, etc. in order to bring the price of the policy down.

“The ghost broker then sells the policy to you, and charges you a fee for doing so.”