Three garda officers 'cleared penalty points from 600 licences'
Three Garda officers under investigation over the improper quashing of penalty points had cleared more than 600 driving licences over a three-and-a-half year period, an internal inquiry has found.
A report into the controversy by assistant commissioner John O’Mahony found the actions of the unnamed gardaí may constitute a breach of Garda discipline rules.
The three were directly involved in wiping penalty points for drivers on 661 occasions between January 2009 and June 2012.
Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan said: "I am however disappointed to discover that there was less than full compliance with policy and procedures and in a small number of cases involving three members, possible breaches of discipline have been identified and files have been forwarded to Assistant Commissioner, Internal Affairs.
"In those circumstances it is not appropriate to comment further."
However, Justice Minister Alan Shatter said that many of the more serious allegations levelled against Garda officers had not been substantiated.
“I am relieved that no evidence has been found to suggest any criminality in the cancellation of fixed charge notices,” he said.
“However, I am concerned that it appears that there have been cases where clearly laid out procedures for the cancellation of notices were not followed, for example where tickets were cancelled by some superintendents outside their Garda district areas.
“It also appears that, in some cases, detailed records were not maintained.”
Mr Shatter said the subjectivity involved in whether to grant a cancellation inevitably left room for disagreement on individual decisions.
Commissioner Callinan said: "The use of discretion by members of An Garda Síochána is best demonstrated as the application of practical, prudent and balanced judgement, which sees the law applied in a manner that is fair, equitable and appropriate to the particular circumstances of individual cases.
"The principles of equality and non discrimination always apply.
"In approaching the application of the law, An Garda Síochána and its membership must be cognisant of these requirements and must be guided by their purpose and intent."
The Justice Minister has ordered Commissioner Callinan to tighten up rules around the quashing of penalty points without delay.
"Assistant Commissioner O'Mahoney also made a number of recommendations arising out of his findings to strengthen the process and procedures surrounding the cancellation of the fixed charge penalty system," Commissioner Callinan stated.
"In addition to the examination conducted by the Assistant Commissioner, I also tasked the Professional Standards Unit, who have a statutory remit, to inter alia, examine compliance with policy and procedures and I have received a comprehensive report from that Unit containing recommendations on how procedures can be strengthened in this area.
"I am confident that both sets of recommendations together with any other supplementary recommendations that may be suggested by the Garda Inspectorate should provide sufficiently robust assurances with regard to the integrity of the system."
The internal inquiry was launched after whistleblowers within the force presented TDs with a dossier on alleged incidents of improper clearing of penalty points last year.
There were 66,407 cases of penalties being quashed over the period under investigation, with 37,384 of those cleared by Garda officers using their discretionary powers under the current system.
More than one in 10 (11%) cases where points were terminated were done so improperly, or not strictly within procedures, according to a random audit carried out as part of the inquiry.
The report found improper procedures were mainly for not leaving a proper paper trail or officers cleaning points for offences carried out outside their own Garda district.
But the investigation did not uncover any evidence of criminality or corruption.
