Drink Driving

Drink driving cases come before the Courts either by way of:

1. A charge sheet procedure (you will have been charged with an offence at a Gárda station and bailed to appear in court) or;
2. A summons (you will receive a summons in the post). Most prosecutions will involve three appearances before the local District Court in the area which the offence is alleged to have occurred.

Penalties

If you are convicted for drink driving you will receive;

• monetary fine and
• a mandatory disqualification from driving.

A mandatory disqualification can range from 1 year upwards, depending on:

• (a) the amount of alcohol in your system;
• (b) what type/class of licence you hold; and
• (c) your previous driving history.

Process

Generally, a drink driving case will involve at least 3 court appearances.

• On the first date, the Judge will order disclosure of evidence being relied upon by the Gárda.
• The Judge will also set a date not the next court appearance wherein you will either plead guilty or contest the charges.
• Once we receive the evidence we will examine same before advising you before the second court appearance.
• On the second date in Court, we will advise the judge that we will either contest the case or plead guilty depending on and according to your instructions. The judge will then fix the date for the third court date.
• On the third court date the case will be heard in full by the Judge.

I have been disqualified, can I get my licence back early?

Where you have been disqualified from driving, it is possible in some limited circumstances to apply for an early restoration of your driving licence.

However, you must meet the strict criteria in order to qualify for this.

The following are some of the criteria that you must comply with in order to get your driving licence back and we have a proven track record in making these applications:

• You must have served at least two years or two thirds of the disqualification period on your driving licence;
• It must be your 1st drink driving disqualification in the previous 10 years;
• You must have paid your fine; and/or
• You must have submitted your licence to the local authority to have the disqualification endorsed.

What are the legal fees involved?

Contact us for a free consultation and an agreement on professional fees. This fee includes the initial consultation, all court attendances and also includes the barrister’s fees.

MB Solicitors conveniently located in Dublin are available to advise you on all aspects of your case, represent you in Court (in Dublin and surrounding counties) and work to ensure we achieve the best outcome in your case. MB Solicitors instruct only experienced barristers, with a proven track record in drink driving cases, and who specialise in the area of Criminal Law. We also give fixed fee quotes for all of the legal work involved, including Barrister’s fees.