The report into the improper cancellation of penalty points says some Gardai did not adhere to policy and procedures. However the internal investigation says there is no evidence of any criminality or corruption on the part of officers.
3 Gardai - a Superintendent and two Inspectors - are the subject of a disciplinary inquiry arising from the report. The names of the gardai at the centre of the improper penalty point termination allegations, and the names of motorists who had their points quashed, have been redacted in the report published today.
Assistant Garda Commissioner John O'Mahoney was appointed last October to investigate the claims. He examined the period between June and 2009 and end of June 2012.
Of the 1.46 million fixed charged notices issued in that time, just under 3% - or over 37,000 - were terminated by gardai exercising their discretionary powers.
The report says there is no evidence of criminality, corruption, deception or falsification as was alleged by the whistleblower. However it find a number of penalty points were removed outside of policy and procedural guidelines.
As a result 3 gardai, a superintendent and two inspectors are now the subject of a disciplinary inquiry.
'Robust assurances' to integrity of the system
Commenting on the report Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan said "I am...disappointed to discover that there was less than full compliance with policy and procedures and in a small number of cases involving 3 members, possible breaches of discipline have been identified and files have been forwarded to Assistant Commissioner, Internal Affairs, the designated authority under the Discipline Regulations for further investigation in that regard. In those circumstances it is not appropriate to comment further".
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 Assistant Commissioner also made a number of recommendations arising out of his findings.
"I also tasked the Professional Standards Unit...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" he added.
The Justice Minister Alan Shatter says strengthened procedures and protocols regarding the cancellation of penalty points should be put in place without undue delay.
Minister Shatter also issued a statement describing Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan as a "self-serving" person. The Justice Minister says the Roscommon deputy had refused to engage with Gardaí.
"I am disappointed but not entirely surprised that Deputy Flanagan, despite all his public statements and having written a very self-serving letter to me on the 21st March 2013 regarding the matter, naming individuals he claimed were involved and stating that he believed "the truth about the situation must be established" and that he "would have a very strong argument for having the points removed", is unwilling to engage further with the Garda investigation" the statement said.
Minister Shatter explained to reporters why he had issued a statement about Deputy Flanagan
