I see The Ditch doing more public service for the tax payer meanwhile the mainstream media journalists are asleep at the wheel.
Lets see how this plays out.
I like the ditch, they're doing great work
I wouldn't be sure about this though, he has a Garda protection officer, they are not just drivers. He really shouldn't be driving himself anywhere
Hense why I added the word "apparently" into the thread title.
It would likely be the family car used for shopping runs, bringing the kids to school etc.
Stephen Donnelly committed a much bigger crime when he decided to join Fianna Fail.
How do they know the car does not have road tax?
Yes it is. Thats what the story quoted.
There’s also a story developing that Leo hasn’t paid his TV licence despite getting 2 reminders in the post.
I would also be interested in how they know who the car is registered to.
Oh yeah, I know. But tbf, politicians do seem to think they're above the law, so wouldn't be surprising really.
Is the ditch a credible source of information? Read about one of the founders above
Some randomer saw it in kilcoole is what they said
..#
Unless they have access to the Department of Transports database they couldn't possibly know.
Also as @Allinall said how do they know who the vehicle is registered to?
It seems a member of the public spotted the expired tax disk and tipped off The Ditch. Bit odd blaming the rest of the media for not breaking the story.
Technically, the tax could be paid, but the valid disk not displayed. Bit of a moot point, because non-display is an offence for which you can be fine and impounded too.
But I wonder how they know that the vehicle is registered to his wife? That information isn't publicly available, and would have serious data protection implications if someone was misusing their access to the information.
The editor of the site said that Paddy C was funding it to the tune of a million quid. Getting great value for money breaking stories like this.
Mistakes were made, but lessons will be learned.
Well it is not moot at all, they are different offences.
Forgetting to throw up your tax disc is a lot different than driving around untaxed for 8 months in terms of penalties and fines and certainly relevant to the public reaction.
Either way they would need access to the Dept. of Transport database to verify their claim.
While Donnelly should of course be up to date with his motor tax and him being out by 8 months does reflect an attitude of the rules are for the plebs not for me, this isn't much of a scoop.
Looks like Irish political 'reporting' is going the way of the UK.
At least BoJo got to have a few scoops before he got scooped.
Peasants is all we are
This is the cnut dictating to use about health warnings on our beer can. He needs to be whiter than white and isnt. Hypocrit.
What’s the most his tax could be? Doubt he’s driving a high tax Bentley or old pre-08 banger on the old tax system
It's a Prius registered to his wife.
It's a Prius, so €170 for a year.
Arrears of about €113 which will be paid when it's renewed ( If it is even out of date at all).
What is the problem?
I'm quite happy to see all these incidents being highlighted, no matter how minor they may seem. These are the people who set the laws and yet some of them seem to think they don't apply to them.
I'm not naive enough to think The Ditch and its backer are in this for purely altruistic reasons but it is providing a valuable service with its muck-raking.
And in breaking news Waterford Whispers has announced a friendly takeover of The Ditch.
Anyone who knows the reg of a car can check the motor tax status of it by entering the reg in the adverts.ie mobile app. Also the status is part of the vehicle reports provided by cartell.ie, mywheels.ie, motorcheck.ie for a cost of about 35 quid.
Meh, I'd prefer that they went after him for the poor job he's doing in charge of disastrous health service rather than muck-raking but if that's what you want then each to their own.
Agreed - the ditch turning in to a farce chasing pigeon feed like this.
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