Mechanic who filled his BMW with green diesel is fined €2,800 in court

A young Quigley’s Point mechanic caught with green agricultural diesel in the tank of his BMW car has been fined €2,800 in court.

Daniel Harkin, of Lint Cottage, Crehennan, Quigley’s Point, pleaded guilty to one charge at Carndonagh District Court. A second charge against the 22-year-old was dropped in light of his guilty plea.

Prescribed marker fuel, or green diesel, is diesel with a green dye and chemical markers added, used for specific tax-reduced purposes like farming and off-road machinery – but it’s strictly prohibited in regular road vehicles due to lower excise duty.

A Customs officer gave evidence, explaining that the matter came to light after gardai had seized Mr Harkin’s vehicle – a UK-registered black BMW X5 jeep – for a different offence almost two years ago.

The court heard how Garda Thomas Duggan had made a request for the fuel to be tested after the vehicle was seized for no insurance in Carndonagh on April 23, 2024.

The following morning, on April 24, Customs officers tested the diesel at a yard in Letterkenny. The fuel appeared to be green in colour, so a roadside test was performed, which came back as positive for the presence of a prescribed marker.

Three further samples were then taken and sent to the State Laboratory the following month for more detailed analysis, which confirmed that the prescribed marker was present in the fuel.

The court was told that Mr Harkin was contacted on May 1, 2024 and invited to attend an interview with Customs officers in Letterkenny at midday on May 9, 2024; however, he failed to attend.

Mr Harkin has no previous convictions.

State Solicitor Kieran Dillon explained how the penalty for the offence was €5,000, but this could be reduced in half, to a minimum of €2,500 at the discretion of the judge.

Defending the case, solicitor Rory O’Brien said Mr Harkin had made a ‘silly mistake’, and he urged Judge Emile Daly to be as lenient as possible given the circumstances.

“He’s a part-time mechanic, earning approximately €300 per week. He had the vehicle for an exceptionally short period of time and wishes to plead [guilty] to the matter and accept the appropriate penalty.”

“I’d ask the court to mitigate it down as much as possible; it’s a significant amount here for this gentleman, and he’ll need a considerable period of time to pay.”

Mr O’Brien said his client had already faced a significant penalty.

“He’s already received significant punishment. The vehicle was seized for no insurance, and the next thing he started receiving correspondence in relation to this.”

“He was stopped for no insurance – and he has already been penalised for that incident. This is effectively a second set of prosecutions arising out of the same set of facts.”

“This is the only time he’s ever been before the court on anything. It was all one silly mistake using this vehicle. He should have properly checked; he should have properly validated and verified, but he didn’t,” the solicitor added.

Judge Daly said Mr Harkin should have known better, given that he works in the motor industry.

“This is a young man who’s in the business, so he can’t claim he doesn’t know.”

“The minimum I can mitigate on the basis of his youth and also his means is the amount of €2,500. So, I’m going to convict and fine €2,800,” she ruled.

The judge gave Mr Harkin six months to pay the sum, and she granted Legal Aid to Mr O’Brien in the case.