The Court of Appeal has given Timothy Walsh 21 days to lodge an appeal against the 15-year driving disqualification imposed as part of his sentence in 2014. The court granted an extension of time; it did not rule on whether the length of the ban should change.
Walsh was sentenced on 30 July 2014 to four years in prison, with the final 12 months suspended, and disqualified from driving for 15 years. The judgment says he was released early on 16 January 2016. It records that he had obtained employment in Haulbowline, as the court was informed, and that not having a driving licence had become a significant difficulty for him.
In an affidavit supporting his extension application, Walsh said his focus after sentencing had been on the prison term rather than the driving ban. The judgment records that he had received advice that the prison sentence did not warrant an appeal on severity grounds, but had not considered the length of the disqualification. Counsel submitted that a person could not apply to have a licence restored until at least two-thirds of the disqualification period had passed.
The court described the extension request as a “close run thing”, given the reason no appeal had been lodged. It said it had largely excluded from consideration what appeared to be significant aggravating factors, and that the merits of any appeal were for a future hearing.
The order allows 21 days from 6 March 2017 to lodge the appeal. The judgment says the appeal would then proceed in the Court of Criminal Appeal, with directions expected on legal submissions. The order grants time to appeal only; it does not set aside or reduce the disqualification.