Leitrim court hears back doors of van held closed by baling twine

A woman who had no insurance, driving licence, tax or NCT on her vehicle and made a false report to Gardai claiming her car was stolen was convicted of the offences at Manorhamilton District Court.
Teresa Canning, Drumconor, Dromahair pleaded guilty to the driving offences which occurred on October 4, 2021, at Main St, Dromahair, and to giving a false report on October 6, 2021.

Sgt Gerry Curley outlined the facts to the court. He said that on October 4, 2021, Garda William Powell was on mobile patrol in Dromahair when he observed a vehicle parking on the footpath outside the Gala shop.

He said the red Opel van was in a very poor condition and the back doors were held closed by baling twine.
There was no insurance on it from August 2019, no tax from March 2020 and no NCT from April 2021. The vehicle was seized.
The defendant later phoned Manorhamilton Garda Station and said her vehicle was stolen. She denied driving the van on the date in question.

On January 26, 2022 she presented at Manorhamilton Garda Station and made a cautioned statement. She still maintained the van was stolen but was shown the CCTV footage which showed her parking and exiting the van. It also showed her coming out of the shop and turning back when she saw the Gardai.
She then admitted lying and that she had been driving the van.

Solicitor, Gerry McGovern, handed in a letter to Judge Sandra Murphy which he said outlined his client's “ongoing difficulties”.
He said it was “out of character” by her and that she had no previous convictions. He said she did the right thing although she was late in admitting it. He asked the judge to take into account her age and to deal with it in a lenient manner.

Judge Murphy described it as an unusual case but said she was satisfied it was a once off. She convicted and fined the defendant €250 for no insurance but did not impose a disqualification.
She was convicted and fined €150 for having no driving licence and €150 for making a false report, allowing six months to pay.
She was also convicted of having no tax and no NCT which were both taken into consideration.