Mechanic repeatedly convicted of driving without insurance gets suspended jail sentence
A mechanic who has been repeatedly convicted of driving without insurance has been given a six-month suspended sentence and disqualified from driving for six years, after a judge pressed on with finalising a case that had come before the court more than 20 times since 2019.
Declan Daly (35), of La Touche Road, Bluebell, Dublin 12, appeared at Tallaght District Court last week, where he denied driving without insurance on the Old Military Road, Rathfarnham, at around 1am on December 18, 2019.
The court heard Mr Daly was stopped by Garda Dillon O’Malley for allegedly speeding in a black VW minibus van, with three passengers. When asked where he was going, Mr Daly replied: “Ah you know yourself, guard – just out for a drive”.
Garda O’Malley said a summons was issued after Mr Daly failed to produce a certificate of insurance at the scene or within the 10-day statutory period. When documentation was eventually provided, the court heard it related to garage cover and was not valid for private or leisure driving, nor did it cover the time of the offence.
Mr Daly claimed under oath that he had been instructed by his employer to take the van home ahead of an NCT test the next morning, but Garda O’Malley said the vehicle was registered in Mr Daly’s name and there was no documentation to support his account.
“I’ve heard the evidence from Garda O’Malley and Mr Daly. I’m satisfied he was not insured to drive the vehicle. I don’t believe he was fully honest with the court,” Judge Patricia McNamara said, accepting the garda’s version of events.
Before sentencing, she noted Mr Daly’s record of 24 previous convictions, including three for driving without a licence and five for driving without insurance. His most recent no-insurance offence was in May 2022, and he is currently serving a four-year driving ban imposed in April 2025.
“I’m trying to see the pattern of behaviour here,” the judge remarked.
Given his record, she imposed a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years on his own bond of €200, on condition that he does not drive or be in control of any vehicle during that period. She also disqualified him from driving for six years and fined him €600, giving him five months to pay.