Kilkenny woman stopped by gardaí discovered insurance a ‘friend’ arranged was fraudulent

A woman who handed over more than €2,000 to someone who ‘helped’ her get car insurance discovered she had a fraudulent insurance disc when she met gardaí.

Mary Carthy, 6A Quay Court, New Building Lane, Kilkenny, pleaded guilty to a charge of driving without insurance and a charge of being an unaccompanied learner driver, at Kilkenny District Court.

Inspector Barry Smith told the court that Ms Carthy was stopped by gardaí at Kennyswell Road on April 28, 2024.

When gardaí checked on their mobility device it was confirmed there was no valid policy in place.

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Ms Carthy was also driving without being accompanied, the court heard.

The defendant had previous convictions, including one for driving without insurance in 2019.

Solicitor Chris Hogan pointed out the previous insurance charge was from more than three years ago.

He explained what had happened was his client is illiterate and had asked someone to help her get insurance. Ms Carthy paid €2,200 and understood she had the correct insurance. However, it turned out to be a fraudulent disc.

Mr Hogan said this has now happened three times to members of Ms Carthy’s family when a particular person had ‘helped’ them obtain insurance.

Judge Geraldine Carthy convicted the defendant of driving without insurance and imposed a driving disqualification of two years. A fine of €200 was also imposed for driving while unaccompanied.