Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In the context of gardaí exercising discretion before fixed-charge tickets are issued, as an aside during our conversation the Commissioner mentioned to me the incident to which Deputy Wallace referred. Deputy Niall Collins asked me how the Commissioner knew of the incident. I do not know how he knew of the incident. Did I get a briefing in writing on it? I did not. Did I go looking for it? No, I did not. It was an aside in a conversation.

In the context of the issue we are discussing, I have said - I am sorry Deputy Wallace did not acknowledge it - that if he feels I did him some personal wrong by mentioning this issue, I am quite happy to say sorry to him, which is what I have said. However, I must make the point that Deputy Wallace's views on this particular issue are like shifting sands and we have had a variety of different presentations. One is that gardaí should never exercise their discretion. The next is that it is okay if they exercise discretion if a fixed-notice charge is not issued but where such a charge is issued, one should have to go to court. If anybody checks the "Prime Time" record, they will see that the Deputy shifted from the first view before moving on to the second view. He was very adamant on the second view in regard to fixed-notice charges that if one has been issued, individuals should be taken to court. I have explained why the discretion should still be exercised.

I cannot add a greater enlightenment to this matter. The only reason I raised it was that Deputy Wallace, as I said, was effectively saying that gardaí were acting unlawfully in exercising their discretion. He said again this evening that there is no lawful basis for it and if the law is changed he will be happy with it. I know the Deputy has read the report and, in fairness to him, he accepts aspects of what is in it. The report details a variety of circumstances in which fixed-notice charges are issued, often by speed vans. The effect of that is that in the case of a medical practitioner rushing to an emergency, a parent bringing a sick child to hospital or a husband transporting his pregnant wife to a maternity unit, for example, there is no way those circumstances can be known by the person operating the speed van. We must have a discretion exercised so that individuals are not unnecessarily brought before our courts.

There is no question of my personally seeking information about any Member of this House, in any circumstances, in respect of any issue. It is simply that this was brought to my attention. Deputy Wallace says he wants maximum transparency in this area. In the context of the case he was making that gardaí were acting unlawfully in exercising their discretion, I thought it was reasonable to point out that he was a beneficiary of that discretion and that others should be treated just as equally as he was treated.

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