Court bans young Wicklow man from driving for two years over insurance lapse

By Darragh McCann, The Wicklow People

A young Wicklow man who relies on his car to help care for his disabled mother has been disqualified from driving for two years after being caught without insurance.

Rory O’Brien (22) of 5 Keatingstown, Wicklow town, Co. Wicklow, appeared before Bray District Court charged with having no insurance

The court heard evidence from Sergeant Anthony Flynn that Mr O’Brien was stopped by gardaí while in a silver Ford Fiesta and made a full admission to having no active insurance.

Dermot Hickey, solicitor for the defendants told the court that his client had an active insurance policy on an Audi, but the engine had blown just days before the incident, and that his client had forgotten to switch over the insurance onto the Fiesta.

The court was told Mr O’Brien was gainfully employed at Meta and worked on call and at unsociable hours of the night. Mr Hickey said that “it was just a small error on his client’s part”. He told the court that his client lives at home with his mother and father.

The court was told that his mother suffers from multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair, while his father works for ESB and is sometimes outside of the county, leaving Mr O’Brien as the only person available to bring his mother to her hospital appointments.

Mr Hickey told the court that his client needed his vehicle as his older sister, who also lives in the family home, doesn’t drive and takes the bus to work. Judge David Kennedy quizzed Mr O’Brien on why his sister doesn’t drive.

He then disqualified Mr O’Brien from driving for two-years and fined him €500.