31 gardaí convicted in last two years
Dozens of Garda officers have been convicted of crimes over the past two years, almost a quarter of them for drink-driving, it was revealed today.
Thirty-one gardaí were found guilty of a range of offences before the courts.
Garda headquarters refused to reveal details of the criminal records of 24 members of the force or what specific disciplinary action was taken.
The figures released show seven officers were charged and convicted of drink-driving from the beginning of January 2005 to the start of December 2006.
Noel Brett, chief executive of the Road Safety Authority, said the findings proved nobody in society is above the law when it comes to “killer behaviour”.
“Ultimately, from my point of view, I welcome such robust enforcement of the laws, which are merciless now, and these figures prove that,” he said.
“They show if you engage in killer behaviour you will be caught.”
The embarrassing revelation comes amid a highly-publicised drink-driving offensive by gardaí, including the introduction of random breath testing.
Mr Brett refused to be drawn on what internal action he believed was appropriate for Garda officers convicted of such offences.
“We are delighted the law is being applied rigorously to everybody. In terms of what the garda commissioner [Noel Conroy], as their employer, wants to do, that’s a matter for himself,” he said.
Another 24 Garda officers were charged and convicted of crimes other than drink-driving from the beginning of January 2005 to the start of December 2006.
Garda headquarters, which is not covered by the Freedom of Information Act, said it did not see the value in releasing details of these crimes.
In a statement a spokesman said: “The breakdown figures you seek are not routinely disseminated and as a consequence are not readily available. The amount of time required to assemble these figures is disproportionate to any perceived benefit.”
Asked about what action was taken against the offending officers, the spokesman pointed to general figures on disciplinary matters carried in the force’s annual report every year.
The most recent report, for 2005, show three Garda officers were dismissed from the force that year under regulation 40 of its disciplinary code, dealing with criminal or discreditable conduct.
Another 16 members were suspended during the year, which brought to 26 the total number of officers on suspension for 2005.
In November, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) revealed 16 of its officers were facing disciplinary action after being convicted of drink-driving during the year.
PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Paul Leighton was publicly critical of the offenders and said some could lose their jobs.
