Irish police have been in pursuit of a Polish man by the name of "Prawo Jazdy" -- but the chances of placing him behind bars remain slim.

A breakdown in communication has meant at least 50 Polish people have been logged on the crime database under the name "Driving Licence".

The Polish term for driving licence, "Prawo Jazdy", has been taken down in error by members of the traffic corps as the actual identity of the motorists they stopped.

A confidential memo which has made its way into the public domain admits the blunder.

An e-mail has been circulated which shows a copy of the letter from the traffic department of the Dublin Metropolitan Region from June 2007.

Gardai have confirmed that the email is not a hoax but a "confidential internal document". The memo states: "Prawo Jazdy is actually the Polish for driving licence and not the first and surname on the licence."

"Having noticed this, I decided to check and see how many times officers have made this mistake.

"It is quite embarrassing to see that the system has created Prawo Jazdy as a person with over 50 identities.

"He can also be found on the Fixed Charge Processing System as well. This mistake needs to be rectified immediately and a memo sent to the members concerned."

The gaffe happened because the Poles phased out the old paper licence in 2004, and replaced it with the EU credit card-style model.

The EU card carries the words "Prawo Jazdy" in large at the top with the actual name appears underneath in somewhat smaller letters.

A police spokesman declined to comment on the reports.