Leitrim resident fined for not having insurance

A Dromod resident, who pleaded guilty to a charge of driving with no insurance, has been fined €250 at Carrick-on-Shannon District Court.

Sebastian Cobala (22) of Ardancuain, Dromod was detected driving with no insurance at River Meadow, Dromod, Co Leitrim on March 12. The vehicle had no tax and was also seized, the court heard.

The defendant had a driving licence.
He had no previous convictions.

Defence solicitor Colm Conway said the defendant had not been long in the country and had moved here from Poland.
He was working as an apprentice cabinet maker and wrongly assumed that he was insured on his friend's car.
The defendant hoped to buy his own car.

The solicitor said he had explained the law to the defendant and was asking the court to be as lenient as possible.

The defendant was trying to make his way in this country, and he was sorry for the offence and he knows how the law operates in this country.

Judge Sandra Murphy fined the defendant €250 and did not impose a driving ban in the special circumstances.

A charge of failing to produce insurance was taken into consideration.