*John Mountaine. Photograph: John Mangan
CLARE TD Violet Anne Wynne’s (IND) partner has received a suspended one-month prison term over driving without a driver’s licence.
At Kilrush District Court, Judge Alec Gabbett imposed the one month prison term suspended for one year on John Mountaine (42) of Pella Rd, Kilrush.
Judge Gabbett imposed the penalty after Mr Mountaine pleaded guilty to driving a 192 G registered car without a driving licence on May 19th 2022 at Wood Road, Kilrush contrary to Section 38 (1) of the Road Traffic Act.
Mr Mountaine is currently off the road and serving a three month driving ban that was affirmed at Kilrush Circuit Court in July concerning a separate driving offence.
The driving ban comes to an end on Wednesday October 23rd.
At Kilrush Circuit Court in July, Mr Mountaine unsuccessfully pleaded with Judge Francis Comerford not to affirm the three month driving ban that was initially imposed on him in the District Court in June.
After Judge Comerford said that he would be affirming the three month ban imposed on Mr Mountaine for driving unaccompanied on a provisional licence at Lack West, Kilmihil, Co Clare in October 2021, Mr Mountaine’s solicitor, Patrick Moylan told Judge Comerford that Mr Mountaine would like to personally address the court.
Mr Mountaine told Judge Comerford, “The reason why I didn’t apply (for the driving test) until 2020 was because I couldn’t afford it before then to do the test”.
Violet Anne Wynne was elected a TD for Sinn Féin for Clare in the February 2020 General Election and Mr Mountaine said, “My wife got a job and I applied for the test”.
Mr Mountaine told the court, “Unfortunately she is a politician and there is no filter from the brain to the mouth and she has upset a lot of people and I believe this is why this has taken so long”.
He said, “I don’t understand why it has taken so long – that is the only reason I can come to”.
Appealing to Judge Comerford not to impose the driving ban, Mr Mountaine said, “I need me licence to be able to get to work”.
“I am asking, impose any fine on me you would want but please let me keep my licence because it affects me majorly”.
However, after hearing Mr Mountaine’s personal plea, Judge Comerford said that would affirm the ban and said that he could sit his driving test after the ban expires.
Judge Comerford said that he was affirming the ban as he said Mr Mountaine’s course of events about waiting for a driving test appointment was “inherently improbable” without providing any correspondence to back it up.
Judge Comerford noted that Mr Mountaine was first convicted of driving without a provisional licence unaccompanied in 2013 and he was still without a full licence.
Solicitor for Mr Mountaine, Patrick Moylan said: “There is no getting around that Mr Mountaine made a driving test application in November 2020 and we are now in July 2024”.
Mr Moylan said that the almost four year wait “is extraordinary – it is in his interests and no one wants more to get his test than Mr Mountaine”.
Mr Moylan said, “He is a 42 year old man who has a partner and six children ranging in age from 14 to 2. His driver’s licence is something that is very important to him”.
Mr Moylan added, “He commenced a carpentry business, Monty’s Carpentry and it has taken off and he is doing very well. He wants nothing more than to get his driver’s licence. If he is disqualified from driving, he can’t do his driving test”.
