'Eejit' uninsured driver gets 20-year ban

Dermot Metcalfe (43) was caught as he drove to his mother's house, where there was a parking permit, a court heard.

He had already been caught six times without insurance.

Judge David McHugh at Blanchardstown District Court banned him from driving for 20 years after Metcalfe's lawyer said the accused had been "an awful eejit".

He also gave him a five-month suspended sentence.

Metcalfe, of Nelson Street, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to uninsured driving at North Cumberland Street, Dublin, last July 26.

He also pleaded guilty to the same offence at North King Street on February 26, 2013, and at Tesco Clear- water, Finglas, on May 12 of the same year.

Further counts related to 2012 at Glasnevin Downs on April 5; Dunsink Drive, Finglas, on May 28; Ballymun Road on June 9; and Finglas Road, Glasnevin, on October 8.

Defence barrister Jennifer Jackson said Metcalfe had been "incredibly foolish".

Mistake

Judge McHugh said his compulsion was to jail the defendant, but he accepted that it had been "a mistake on his part" on the latest charges.

As well as the 20-year driving ban, he imposed fines totalling €600.

The judge suspended the sentence for two years. "I don't want to see this gentleman again," he said.