Clarity is urgently needed around the use of Garda speed guns following the latest successful court challenge, according to the Automobile Association.
The AA was commenting after Judge Joseph Mangan dismissed more than 20 speeding prosecutions at Ennis District Court yesterday after ruling that speeding tickets issued by gardaí did not represent a record of the alleged speeding offence detected by speeding guns.
In dismissing the speeding cases, Judge Mangan cited section 21.2 (ii) of the 2002 Road Traffic Act, making it the second section of the legislation which has been successfully challenged in the district courts.
This section requires gardaí to provide a copy of the record produced by the speed gun.
Judge Mangan opted not to make any determination as to whether the speed guns could provide a record.
Already, district court judges in Mayo and Cork have ruled in favour of defendants in relation to section 21.1 of the Act, where defence solicitors successfully argued that the hand-held speed guns did not provide a permanent record of the speed of cars.
At Ennis District Court yesterday, solicitor Mr John Casey argued: "The speeding ticket issued is not a copy of a record as the speed gun cannot produce any printed record. The ticket is issued after the event."
Four hundred hand-held Speedscope radar guns are in use by gardaí.
The public affairs manager of the AA, Mr Conor Faughnan, said last night that clarity on the use of the guns was urgently needed. "The gardaí have to be able to police the speed limits on our roads and clarification is needed on the use of the speed guns, in the higher courts. If gardaí can't use them, let us know."
Mr Faughnan added: "For broad social reasons, it is very important that this issue be resolved."
He said such hand-held speed detectors were used across the world where no paper record was made. "As far as I'm aware Ireland is the only country where they have been challenged in the courts."
It is understood that the DPP is examining the outcome of decisions in Mayo and Cork.