A DISTRICT court judge said it was ‘beyond a joke’ that a man she convicted of driving without insurance for the third time doesn’t hold a full driving licence.

Judge Joanne Carroll was dealing with the case of Rye de Sylva at Clonakilty District Court. Mr Da Silva (30) of Gurrane, Castledonovan, Drimoleague pleaded guilty to driving without insurance and driving while disqualified.

Sgt Tom Mulcahy told the court that at 5.55pm on Monday November 17th last Gda Newman stopped the car being driven by the accused in Dunmanway.

The court heard that he received a four-year driving ban at Bantry District Court in September 2022 and has nine previous convictions including two for driving without insurance and one for the fraudulent use of a tax disc.

Defence solicitor Conrad Murphy said his client works six days a week driving machinery on a site where he has a ticket to drive. ‘He lives in a rural area of West Cork but works in Cork city and was getting spins to work. However, on this occasion he drove to an area to get collected and was caught by gardaí,’ said Mr Murphy. Judge Carroll sentenced him to three months in prison for driving while disqualified but suspended it for 12 months. She disqualified him from driving for four years on the no insurance charge and convicted and fined him €350.

‘You can’t ignore the law completely. You have no driving licence, this is your third no insurance conviction and you’ve pleaded guilty to the fraudulent use of a tax disc,’ said Judge Carroll.