Wrong penalty points notice

Query for a friend.

He was stopped for going through a red light which he says he didn't. Went to the Garda station to complain and was told he could either go to the Ombudsman or challenge the penalty point notice when it arrived.

So, notice arrived, and he challenged it, sending back the notice which he was challenging.

The challenge was refused and they returned a notice. But, the notice is not his original notice rather some completely different guy in Cork. So, now he has no notice even if he did want to pay it.

He has talked to a solicitor who says he can probably win him any case in court, but he's in two minds about whether he should bother.

What really got up his nose was that the Garda never gave him a proper explanation and he's at a loss to know what red light he supposedly went through. He has 15 years driving experience without a single point on his licence.

Is the fact that he got the wrong notice a sufficient defense in court, at least for not paying the fine?

And, if he was challenging the penalty points, in cases like this where it is his word against the Garda's, do the courts usually accept the Garda's word in the absence of any other evidence.

No dash cam. Nobody else in car.