Motorist failed to convince judge that fines were not received in the post

Jerry Murphy from 1 Marshmeadows, New Ross failed to convince Judge Gerard Haughton that motoring fines issued to him in the post were not delivered to his home.

The 23-year-old attended Wexford District Court sitting at Ardcavan where he admitted that he had been detected speeding by Garda Dene O’Gorman.

He also accepted that he was caught on another occasion by Garda Declan Dennehy on the road as a learner permit holder without having a qualified driver with him.

However, he gave evidence under oath that he received no fixed penalty notices in the mail.

Sergeant Gary Rayner found this hard to believe, citing a list of previous instances when no payment was received from Murphy after fines were issued by post.

The sergeant mentioned five previous cases – dating back to motoring offences alleged on October of 2013, on March of 2015, on June of 2015, on February of 2016 and on March of 2016.

Two other incidents were mentioned, arising from a second date in March of 2016 and July of 2016 but the defendant insisted that he attended court in both of these cases.

The judge said he could not accept the evidence of the defendant, dealing with the two summonses before him by imposing fines of €150.