Sinn Féin TD reveals he was caught drink driving while on a learner licence
:: Incident still ‘a great source of shame for me’ seven years on
SINN Féin TD Pat Buckley has revealed that he was driving on a learner’s licence when he was caught drink-driving in 2013.
Mr Buckley said the incident, which led to a three-year driving ban, is “a great source of shame for me and massive mistake which I will never, ever repeat”.
The Cork East TD’s remarks come amid the controversy over Agriculture Minister Barry Cowen’s drink-driving offence.
Mr Cowen was disqualified from driving for three months after being caught drinkdriving when he was returning home from the All-Ireland football final in September 2016.
The Fianna Fáil TD was 49 and still had a learner’s permit when that incident happened.
He has not yet explained how he reached that age without securing a full driving licence but is coming under pressure to do so.
Mr Buckley has apologised in the past and spoken openly about his shame over his own drink-driving incident.
He was disqualified from driving for three years and fined €500 in 2014 after being convicted of being over the alcohol limit while driving the previous year.
The court was told that he had been attending a family function and he drove home after drinking. Mr Buckley was stopped by gardaí in the early hours of June 9, 2013, at Mill Road in Midleton.
He was later found to be more than three times above the permitted blood-alcohol level. Mr Buckley was a sitting Cork County Council member at the time the ban was handed down. He was 44 when the drink-driving incident took place.
Mr Buckley last night confirmed he had been driving on a provisional licence when he was caught drink-driving. He said he had been applying for the test at the time.
The Sinn Féin TD did not respond to questions on how long he had been driving on a provisional licence, why he did not have a full licence at the age of 44, or whether he had ever taken a driving test prior to his ban.
In a statement, he said his ban for driving under the influence of alcohol had been public knowledge since it happened, adding: “It was a great source of shame for me and massive mistake which I will never, ever repeat.
“Since the ban ended, I have not sought a new licence. The bus or train service has suited me for work mostly.
“Family, friends and colleagues have been a great support in getting around to constituents locally.”
Mr Buckley said he did not hold a learner permit now but intended to apply for one in future and “to get a full licence soon after”.
“At present I have no licence of any form and do not drive,” he said.
After his conviction, Mr Buckley publicly apologised and issued a personal Christmas appeal in December 2014, saying: “I urge all people out socialising to respect the roads and not to drink and drive.”
The judge in the case noted Mr Buckley’s substantial amount of charity work. Mr Buckley founded a suicide prevention charity after his brothers, Mark and James, tragically took their own lives in 2002 and 2003.
The drink-driving case isn’t the Sinn Féin TD’s only brush with the law.
Mr Buckley avoided a conviction for engaging in threatening and abusive behaviour to a garda after a noise complaint about a party at his house in 2017 while drunk.
Court proceedings in 2018 resulted in the Probation Act being applied as he publicly apologised for his behaviour towards gardaí who responded to the complaint. Mr Buckley had pleaded guilty to two charges brought under the Public Order Act.
The court had been told that when officers called to make Mr Buckley aware of the noise issue, they were abruptly told to “f**k off”. He also called one garda an abusive name.
After he avoided conviction, Mr Buckley said: “I apologise to the officers involved and deeply regret my actions on the day.”
He also said he was very grateful to the court for the benefit of the Probation Act.