Driver admits three counts of no insurance

PUT OFF THE ROAD FOR SIX YEARS

MOTORING OFFENCES dating back to 2016 and 2017 were finally dealt with at a sitting of Wexford District Court.

Three counts of driving without insurance were met by guilty pleas from 28-year-old Anthony Larkin.

His address was given alternatively as 43 Middleton Valley, Riverchapel and The Foggy Dew Inn, South Main Street, Wexford Town.

However, defending solicitor Tim Cummings handed in a letter from Focus Ireland and indicated that his client had in fact been homeless for a period.

Larkin had no previous convictions on his record before he encountered Garda John Cooper, who was driving through Ballycanew one night in April of 2016.

The defendant pulled out in front of the garda, who had to take evasive action, and he later gave a blood sample which showed an illegal concentration of alcohol.

The following October, the same driver – again uninsured – came under investigation by

Garda Michael Burke of the traffic corps.

This time the defendant was behind the wheel in Courtown.

A year later, in October of 2017, he came to the attention of Garda Vincent Downes at St Michael’s Place in Gorey, once more without insurance cover.

Mr Cummings looked for an adjournment of the case but his application was turned down by Judge Brian O’Shea. The court noted that five bench warrants for Larkin’s arrest had been issued over the years by the court on previous occasions when he failed to turn up for hearings.

The solicitor was allowed some time to consult with his client but the proceedings were then finalised without delay.

Mr Cummings stated that his client had been gainfully employed as a courier up to 2016.

However, the accused man’s life then descended into chaos as he developed a drug addiction, principally to cocaine.

Judge O’Shea accepted that the defendant had experienced homelessness and also that Larkin had taken steps to address his addiction.

Fines to a total of €300 were handed down, along with a six-year disqualification from holding a driving licence.

‘I can’t be any fairer to him than that,’ observed the judge.