Judge calls for cross border driving licence crackdown

District judge, Barney McElholm, said disqualified drivers find it too easy to obtain a licence from across the border

A judge in Londonderry is calling for action to stop disqualified drivers getting a licence across the border.

District judge Barney McElholm made the comment during the case of a 44-year-old woman, Matilda Diver, from Labre Park in the Ballyarnott area of Derry.

She had been disqualified from driving in Northern Ireland, but got a licence in the Republic of Ireland.

She was fined £250 at the city's magistrates court for driving at 39 miles an hour in a 30 mph zone.

"Dip in"

She also had six penalty points imposed on her licence after she admitted the offence, which happened at Newbuildings last November.

Defence solicitor, Michael McGee, said Diver was a member of the travelling community who lived with family members in both Derry and Donegal.

Mr McElholm said that in border areas disqualified drivers seemed to "dip in and out of both jurisdictions to obtain a driving licence".

He said that issue was something both governments in the two jurisdictions in Ireland should look at immediately.