Road Transport Act, 1999
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Payment, in lieu of prosecution, to a Member of the Garda Síochána or a transport officer. |
16.—(1) This section applies to offences under— | |
(a) the Principal Act (including any Act construed as one with it) which may not be prosecuted on indictment, or | ||
(b) any regulation made by the Minister under the European Communities Act, 1972 , providing for the carriage of merchandise by road or the carriage of passengers by road or the issuing of transport discs, | ||
as may be declared by the Minister by regulations to be offences to which this section applies. | ||
(2) Where a member of the Garda Síochána or a transport officer has reasonable grounds for believing that a person is committing or has committed an offence to which this section applies he or she may serve the person with a notice, in such form as may be prescribed, stating that— | ||
(a) the person is alleged to have committed the offence, | ||
(b) the person may without delay make to the member or the transport officer a payment of £150, and | ||
(c) if the payment specified in the notice is made without delay, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will be instituted. | ||
(3) Where a member or a transport officer serves a notice upon a person under this section and receives payment from the person of the amount specified in the notice, the member or, as the case may be, the transport officer shall issue a receipt for such payment to the person and retain the money so paid for disposal in such manner as may be prescribed, and any payment so received shall not be recoverable in any circumstances by the person who made it. | ||
(4) In a prosecution for an offence under this Act, the onus of proving that a payment pursuant to a notice under this section has been made shall lie on the defendant. | ||
(5) The Minister may by regulations vary the amount standing specified for the time being in subsection (2) (b). | ||
(6) A payment pursuant to a notice under this section may be made— | ||
(a) in the currency of the State, | ||
(b) in a corresponding amount in— | ||
(i) the currency of another Member State of the European Union, or | ||
(ii) such other currency as may be prescribed, | ||
or | ||
(c) by negotiable instrument acceptable to the member or the transport officer. |