Judge warns woman ‘she knows where she is going’
A CLONDALKIN woman caught driving without insurance for the fourth time has been warned by a judge if she offends again “she knows where she is going”.
Lillian Foley was given a five-month suspended sentence and banned from driving for five years when she appeared in Blanchardstown District Court.
Blanchardstown District Court
Foley, a 41-year-old mother-of-five with an address at Greenfort Crescent, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty to driving without insurance at Neilstown Road, Clondalkin on October 20 last year.
Garda John McCrossan said he was operating a routine checkpoint at 11am on the morning in question when he stopped the accused driving a silver Mitsubishi Space Star. There was no insurance displayed, he said.
Foley had 11 previous convictions, all for motoring offences and including three for uninsured driving, the most recent dating back to 2010, the court heard.
She was not under a disqualification at the time of the latest offence.
Garda McCrossan agreed with defence solicitor Simon Fleming that there was no attempt by his client to suggest she had insurance on the vehicle.
The garda said Foley admitted at the scene that she had no insurance.
It was not an emergency and Mr Fleming said he was not suggesting the accused had any such reason for driving on the day.
She should not have done it, and she did it in an area that was “very heavily policed” – about 100m away from a garda station, Mr Fleming said.
He asked Judge David McHugh not to imprison the accused, saying she had cooperated fully with the gardai.
The judge suspended the five-month sentence for two years.
“I can tell this lady as a matter of near certainty, if she appears before this court again, she knows where she is going,” Judge McHugh said.
