Bought fake licence on building site

A MAN with limited literacy skills presented a phony driving licence he purchased through work- mates on a building site when he went to renew his licence.

Oliver Hayes ( 50) of Ramsgrange, New Ross stood charged at Wexford Court with making a ‘ false declaration’ to the licensing authorities in December.

Defending solicitor Gerry Flynn accepted that the forged licence was not a valid document and Garda David Ryan described how it had no tell- tale watermark or UV features.

When interviewed by the garda, the defendant said he paid € 50 for it while working on a building site a number of years previously.

Hayes was described in court as a single man with a son and a daughter, now caring full time for his aged mother who is not in good health.

Mr Flynn called his client ‘ a man with no guile’ who was now riding a bicycle since the problem with the licence came to light.

Judge Gerard Haughton heard that the accused had a provisional licence for a while as a young man but never took the driving test.

In the witness box, under oath, he recalled that he fell out of school when he was aged 13 because he had to go to hospital for cancer treatment.

The licence which landed him before the court was obtained some years ago when he was working on a site, probably in Clonmel.

His recollection was that it was provided after he said to the lads on the site that it would be handy to be able to drive to work rather than being picked up and given a lift.

Over the years that followed, no queries were raised whenever he had to produce it to gardaí, and he was able to obtain insurance cover – first from Quinns and then from Liberty.

He said he was not able to fill out forms unaided and it was his son who helped him with the paperwork for the licence renewal.

He stressed that he did not realise he was doing something wrong until he went to Wexford to renew in December.

A photocopy of the dud licence was in court and Mr Flynn observed: ‘ It looks for all the world like a legitimate document.’

Judge Haughton, however, found it impossible to believe that Hayes was not aware that he needed to sit the driving test.

The court could not accept that the defendant really believed the licence was genuine, so he was fined € 500.