22-07-2025
Learner driver tried to ‘bypass' theory test by letting someone else sit it
Mother-of-two Maria Stan had since sat the test and got a full licence
A learner driver fraudulently got a licence after trying to 'bypass' the theory test by letting someone else sit it 'on her behalf'.
Mother-of-two Maria Stan (25) was issued with a learner's permit after deceiving authorities with a claim that she had passed the test herself.
Judge Susan Fay adjourned the case, saying she would leave her without a criminal record if she made a €500 charity donation.
There may have been some sort of breakdown in communication
Stan, of Brackenwood Drive, Balbriggan, Co Dublin, pleaded guilty to deception by inducing a worker at the National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) to issue a learner's permit in the belief she had successfully completed the driver's theory test.
A garda sergeant told Dublin District Court that Stan went to the NDLS office at Omni Shopping Centre, Santry, on November 13, 2019, and submitted an application for a licence, including a declaration that she had completed the theory test.
However, someone else had sat it 'on her behalf'. She returned the permit when this was discovered. Stan had no previous convictions.
Maria Stan
Stan was 'given an opportunity to bypass the theory test', she had 'limited English and there may have been some sort of breakdown in communication', defence solicitor Oscar Banahan said.
She understood now that she put herself in a 'precarious situation', he added.
Stan had since sat the test and got a full licence.
Judge Fay remanded the accused on continuing bail to October 9, saying she will apply the Probation Act if the donation is made.
