Of the more than 10,000 drivers who were banned from driving last year, 2,830 launched an appeal.

The disqualification was completely overturned in 531 cases and reduced to a fine in 458 cases.

The original decision was upheld in 179 cases, while 123 cases were struck out due to no appearance and 188 cases were withdrawn.

Susan Gray, chairperson of road safety group Parc, told The Times: “There needs to be transparency as to why these drivers were successful in their appeals.

“Keeping dangerous drivers off our roads is a shared responsibility of the RSA, transport, gardaí and the courts. Surely this will be a red flag to these agencies as its a huge road safety issue.”