Out-of-Time Summons (6-Month Petty Sessions Rule)

Legal basis

Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act 1851 s.10(4); Courts (No. 2) Act 1986 s.1; DPP v. Logan [1994] 3 IR 254; DPP v. Sheeran [1986] ILRM 579.

How to identify this in your case

Compare the date of the alleged parking offence (on the FCN) with the date the summons was applied for or issued. If more than 6 months have elapsed between offence date and application for summons, the prosecution is statute-barred.

Sample appeal wording

To: [Fixed Charge Processing Office / District Court Clerk] Re: FCN [NUMBER] / Summons [NUMBER] Vehicle: [REG] Alleged offence date: [OFFENCE DATE] I write to challenge the validity of the above summons on jurisdictional grounds. 1. The alleged offence occurred on [OFFENCE DATE]. 2. The summons was applied for / issued on [SUMMONS DATE], a period of [X] months after the alleged offence. 3. Section 10(4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act 1851 provides that a complaint in respect of a summary offence must be made within 6 months from the time when the cause of complaint arose. This time limit applies to road traffic summary offences (DPP v. Logan [1994] 3 IR 254; DPP v. Sheeran [1986] ILRM 579). 4. As the application was made outside the statutory 6-month period, the District Court has no jurisdiction. The summons is a nullity and must be struck out. I request that the proceedings be discontinued and the FCN cancelled. Yours faithfully, [NAME]

Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.

Beat It writes this argument automatically

Scan your PCN — our AI checks if this ground applies to your specific ticket, drafts a properly-cited appeal letter, and submits it to the council on your behalf. Only pay if you win.

Sources

• https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1851/act/93/section/10/enacted/en/html
• DPP v. Logan [1994] 3 IR 254

Related

• Full guide: how to appeal a parking fine
• Scan your ticket — Beat It will find every applicable ground
• How Beat It compares to other appeal services