A Government Minister has apologised for an incident in which his driver was caught travelling at 95 mph in a 60 mph zone while rushing him to a Dáil debate.
The Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Mr Noel Treacy, said he "regretted the incident".
The driver was convicted and ordered to pay €500 to charity for driving at 95 mph in the 60 mph zone last September.
"I regret it very much and of course I apologised for it and my driver apologised for it on the day," Mr Treacy said on RTÉ's Morning Irelandprogramme today.
He said he was reading at the time and did not know how fast the car was travelling. He denied telling his driver to break the speed limit.
"In our jobs we work about 120 hours a week, we have a very, very tight schedule," he said.
"I was at a meeting in the Midlands that day. It was the first day the Dáil returned after the summer recess and I happened to be speaking on the Nice Treaty which was opening that day, so I had to be in Dáil Éireann for 3.30.
"Obviously my driver was trying to get from A to B as quickly as he could and that was it". His driver was "a professional" and therefore he relied on him to do the driving while he concentrated on other matters, Mr Treacy said.
"I wouldn't be aware because normally I would be either on the phone or reading files or reading a newspaper or catching up on some work. That's why we have drivers. I wasn't aware that he was breaking the law as such and I regret that very much. Of course he has paid the price and I accept that".