BY C.J. MCGINLEY
A young man was left on the roadside 19 miles from his home after his car was seized by gardai. Jason Patterson, from Donegal Town, was one of up to a group of 30 people who took part in a protest on Wednesday in Letterkenny against the seizure of Northern registered cars in Donegal.
"I was stopped at a garda checkpoint last Tuesday at Kilross near Ballybofey at around 3pm. I was driving a northern registered Peugeot 306 that I had bought the previous November. The car was seized and I was left standing on the roadside 19 miles from my home. I had barely enough credit on my phone to ring my sister to come and collect me," he said.
"I still don't know where the car is. I hadn't paid the VRT but I had the money the following day," he added.
The protest was staged outside the Garda station in Letterkenny because it is the headquarters of the Traffic Corps in the county. It was organised by the Irish Drivers' Association which has over 2,500 members in Donegal. The association claims the seizure of such vehicles is contrary to EU Law and have vowed to make the abolition of Vehicle Registration Tax an election issue over the coming weeks. They have called on the Minister for Finance to abolish the 'illegal and unlawful tax'.
Speaking to the Donegal News, Mr John Doherty, a taxi driver in Letterkenny and Chairman of the Donegal Branch of the Irish Drivers' Association, said motorists had had enough and were being deprived of their rights under EU law by the government.
"For the gardai to order a citizen out of their car, or remove the keys and drive off without the owner's permission leaving them standing on the side of the road is tantamount to theft and the actions of a common thief or highwayman. It is an interference of the person's EU and constitutional rights," he said.
"For a citizen to be subjected to these degrading and draconian measures when the issuing of a summons can be alternatively employed is not something which any citizen in modern day Ireland should be subjected to, let alone tolerated. Gardai and Customs officers, as agents of the state, are seizing vehicles and leaving owners on the roadside at all hours of the day and night. We contend that property can only be seized on foot of a High Court order," he added.
Another of those taking part in the protest was Joseph McCafferty from Ballybofey.
"On February 25 my son had his car seized in Ballybofey by two gardai. It was a Sunday. The reason for the seizure was because the insurance was out of date by a week. The vehicle was insured and people have ten days to produce it if they're stopped. I had to drive to Letterkenny with my son and get the car back. I felt this was a breach of his rights and a waste of time and money," he said.
"However, I have no legal recourse as I was informed it was within the law what they had done," he added.
Mr Doherty added: "The European Court of Justice have consistently held under many Article 234 references that the seizure/dispossession of citizens' vehicles breaches the principle of proportionality and goes way beyond what is required to be achieved. The European Parliament and the EU Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Leslie Kovas, have informed the Irish Government to get rid of VRT and they have failed to do so. This is an illegal and unlawful tax that nobody wants to pay," Mr Doherty said.
A letter of protest was handed in by the association to senior gardai and a copy is being forwarded to the Garda Commissioner, Noel Conroy.
David Russell, National Secretary of the Irish Drivers Association who was in Letterkenny said there was huge resistance and condemnation of the 'unwarranted tax'. The group claims Ireland is now the only country in the EU operating such a system. VRT is a 25 per cent charge for importation while a further 21 per cent is charged for VAT.
"This behaviour can no longer be tolerated. By seizing citizens' vehicles gardai are in danger of losing the respect of the citizen," he said.
The Association has endorsed Councillor Ian McGarvey as its general election candidate in Donegal North East. He joined the protest.
