Judge James O’Donohoe said he was taking judicial notice of his own experience as a motorist as he ruled on the case in the Dublin Circuit Civil Court on Monday.

Media coverage has highlighted the judge’s own 2012 conviction for failing to comply with a request from a Garda for a breath sample.

The Labour Party’s transport spokesperson, Ciarán Ahern, said he had submitted a complaint to the Judicial Council.

“‘Cyclists have become a nightmare in Dublin’ is an untrue, unfair and frankly ignorant statement,” Mr Ahern said.

“The reality is actually much the opposite — being a cyclist is often a nightmare with a lack of safe, segregated cycle lanes, dangerous junctions, poor lighting, poor maintenance of existing bike lanes and record levels of bike theft among some of the many issues cyclists face in Dublin and across the country.”

He continued: “Rather than pitting road users against each other as Judge O’Donohoe has sought to do, we should be encouraging all road users to take greater care of their own road use, and to protect others.

“The decision delivered on Monday in the Circuit Civil Court included remarks made by Judge O’Donohue that generalised negatively about cyclists as a reckless category of road users, rather than confining his analysis strictly to the facts and evidence of the individual case.

“It appears that Judge O’Donohoe may be unable to make an unbiased decision in relation to a category of road users to which he has expressed such disdain.

“I have formally submitted a complaint to the Judicial Council on this matter, and have asked that considerations be given to encourage Judge O’Donohoe to engage with the families of the 45 cyclist fatalities on our roads over the last five years to understand properly the many and serious risks associated with cycling in Ireland.”