M50 toll dodgers: Judge concerned over high number of ‘no show’ defendants

Tom Tuite

A judge has expressed concern over the high level of "no-show" motorists who avoid their court prosecutions for dodging overdue M50 tolls, which carry hefty fines.

Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), the State agency dealing with road and public transport infrastructure, summonsed another batch of them to appear at Dublin District Court after sending hundreds of warning letters.

The court has seen the vast majority not attending court and being fined thousands of euros in their absence; last month, seventeen motorists were hit with fines totalling €262,000.

Of the 32 cases listed on Monday, Judge Anthony Halpin adjourned 24, giving them a final chance to turn up.

He ordered them to be listed next month but earlier in the day and marked them peremptory.

No shows

"I'm very concerned at the no-shows", he said, and he remarked that he found it hard to believe the lack of respect for the court.

Two other cases were adjourned until May, and another two were struck out.

Just four defendants turned up, and Judge Halpin applied the Probation Act, sparing three convictions, while the other case was adjourned to allow the defendant to consider his plea.

At the court's previous M50 prosecution list in January, Judge Halpin handed down fines ranging from €8,000 to €25,000, to be paid within six months.

A thousand warning letters had been sent to one of them, while a couple of the motorists had been sent more than 500 or 600, but they did not come to court.

Previous M50 lists, which typically involve the owners of both private and some commercial vehicles, had a similar amount of "no show" defendants who were fined in their absence, totalling almost €1.2m over the last year.

They also had to pay €350 in prosecution costs.

TII also revealed the motorists' overall record of unpaid charges and hundreds of warning letters sent before court proceedings commenced.

In addition, evidence detailed the types of vehicles and their records of outstanding payments.

In each case, the presiding judge heard the number of unpaid tolls and details of the level of engagement with the motorway operators.

TII could demonstrate which motorists made efforts to pay for journeys, and they received less severe fines.

The agency had certificates detailing the vehicles' registered owners and pictures of them passing the toll gantry on specific dates.

The court can impose fines of up to €5,000 per charge and a six-month sentence.

However, it remains the practice of the motorway authority to select habitual non-payers to face criminal proceedings.

The standard M50 toll for a private car, €3.20, has to be paid before 8pm the following day, or there is a €3 penalty for missing the deadline.

Motorists get 14 days to pay for the journey and the initial penalty or face a more significant fee.

The charge ramps up after 56 days; warning letters and court proceedings follow if it remains unpaid.

In all cases, the registered vehicle owner is liable even if they were not driving