A woman who used her dead father's disability permit and a man whose case was struck out because of garda error in the witness box were among the cases at Galway District Court yesterday.
Judge Mary Fahy faced a list of more than 60 cases, among them one against Linda Murphy of Árd Álainn, Ballybane. She was accused of not having the correct car tax and of using her dead father’s disability parking permit.
Garda Rena Sheeran told the court that, on August 23rd, 2014, she had seen a silver BMW parked in a pay-and-display area with no ticket and a disability permit. She contacted the Irish Wheelchair Association and was told the permit was issued to Joseph Murphy who had died in December 2013. The car was also taxed at a special "exempt" tax rate.
Murphy told the court she put her father’s permit in an envelope and left it in the pocket of her car door, intending to return it.
On August 23rd, she was in the car with her nephew, who had cerebral palsy, and her niece, and had a minor crash.
Her nephew was “very distressed” and she parked the car and took him out and into his wheelchair.
She said he had a disability badge of his own and his mother had put it in his rucksack. She said she walked away from the car, then remembered she had not put up the badge, and told her niece to go back and put it up. Her niece “must have put her hand in the door of the car” and taken out her deceased father’s badge.
She said she had tried to pay the car tax online in September 2014, but the system “wouldn’t allow her”. She paid the tax in December 2014.
Judge Fahy said Murphy sounded “very plausible”, but she didn’t accept her evidence.
Disqualified for year “It doesn’t stand up under scrutiny, whatsoever,” she said. She fined Murphy €700 and ordered her to pay €360 for witness expenses. She disqualified her from driving for 12 months.
In other cases, the judge did not accept that fixed-penalty notices had not been received in the post. Those who failed to appear were fined in their absence between €130 and €200.
Another case was struck out after a garda said in court he had seen the defendant holding a mobile phone while driving, though the summons was for not wearing a seat belt.
