Suspended sentence for driver caught uninsured for second time

A motorist who was caught driving with no insurance for a second time has been disqualified for four years and received a suspended four-month prison sentence.

Ricardo De Castro Silva of Neale Road, Ballinrobe, pleaded guilty at Castlebar District Court to the alleged offence on January 2, 2020, at Bowgate Street, Ballinrobe.

Gda Caroline Taaffe was conducting a checkpoint when she stopped and spoke to the defendant.

There was no valid insurance disc on the vehicle and De Castro Silva failed to produce the relevant documents within ten days.

De Castro Silva has six previous convictions.

Solicitor Cathy McDarby said her client had instructed her he only purchased the vehicle prior to the detection and he had “not had time to insure it”.

She told Judge Fiona Lydon that De Castro Silva, a Brazilian national who works in a sausage factory and has children back home, is now fully insured.

Judge Lydon noted he had several previous convictions for driving related offences and she imposed the driving ban and suspended the custodial sentence for a one-year period.

The defendant was also fined €500 with eight months to pay.