District Court Judge and Chief Super clash
MacBride annuls Rooney's decision to revoke PSV licence
A prominent District Court Judge and a Chief Superintendent (CS) clashed acrimoniously over the decision of the CS to revoke a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licence.
Judge Sean MacBride could not understand why the Chief Superintendent Colm Rooney, Cavan/Monaghan Garda Division, was seeking to have the licence revoked as the matter had already been dealt with at a previous court.
In his ruling last October Judge MacBride fined the licence holder €1,500 but did not disqualify or revoke his licence.
Chief Superintendent Rooney applied to Virginia District Court last Friday to have the licence revoked.
Garda Gary Lee told the court that the owner of the PSV licence had pleaded guilty to three offences. He was not disqualified or had his licence revoked. The owner had a valid PSV licence at the time and it was valid until 2013. There had been no application from the state last October to revoke the licence after he was convicted.
He had no convictions prior to last October and none since. Garda Lee said he had no objection to the man retaining his PSV licence.
Judge asked the CS why was he trying to take the man's livelihood away from him? Replying the CS Rooney said the Garda Commissioner was entrusted under law to grant PSV licences. It was the CS opinion that the licence holder was not fit to hold a PSV licence and that was why he was seeking to have it revoked.
Judge MacBride enquired why he didn't seek to have it revoked when the case came before the court last October?
CS - It only came to his authority in May 2011. He had a ruling from the High Court on a similar case.
A furious Judge MacBride told the CS not to lecture him on the law. He was the youngest law lecturer in Trinity at 23 and had also been called to the New York Bar so he was not going to take a lecture from him.
"The man had paid his debt to society. Can you not get it through your thick skull," stated the Judge to the Chief Superintendent.
Judge MacBride said that he stood over his October order. If he felt the man should have been disqualified or deserved to have his licence revoked he would have done so.
CS stated that based on the facts presented to him it was quite clear that the man was unfit to have a PSV licence. He was seeking to have his licence revoked on that basis.
"The court is not entitled to interfere with the issuing of a PSV licence," he said.
Judge MacBride asked how could the CS revoke the man's licence when he had not been disqualified by the court.
CS: "The court has no authority to interfere with a PSV licence. I considered the facts before me and felt that the man was not fit to hold a PSV licence."
Breffni Gordon, BL defending, informed the court that there was no application made to the court to revoke the PSV licence. It was only in June of this year that the CS declared his hand.
Replying to Mr. Gordon the CS said it was only in May of this year that the facts came before him.
"I made my decision on the facts presented to me and I informed the man," stated the Chief Superintendent.
Judge MacBride said that the man had paid his penalty to society and had a valid licence until 2013.
"It is a very serious matter to remove a PSV licence from an individual in the current economic climate. The man has a constitutional right to his licence," said Judge MacBride.
When he became a judge he took an oath and he intended to live up to it and protect the citizens of Ireland. "I'm annulling the CS decision to revoke the licence," he concluded.
For more court stories from the region, see this week's Anglo-Celt
