Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I pay tribute to the former Garda Commissioner, Mr. Martin Callinan, for his 41 years of service to the community and the State in fighting crime and serious criminals. I wish him and his family the best.

The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, stated:

...any use of Garda discretion to effect the termination of fixed charge notices must be applied in a fair, impartial and transparent manner and on 15 May 2013, I published seven crucial applicable principles to ensure this. They are as follows: 1. There must be no question mark hanging over the integrity of the fixed charge notice system and in the application of penalty points; 2. No individual should receive preferential treatment because of his or her perceived status, relationship or celebrity; 3. The law and any discretionary application of it to individuals must be administered fairly and with compassion and common sense; 4. No member of the Garda should feel compelled by a person's position, relationship or celebrity status to treat that person any more or less favourably than any other person; 5. There must be proper oversight and transparency to the discretionary decision making process and the applicable rules and procedures must be fully complied with; 6. All statutory provisions, regulations, rules, protocols and procedures applicable to the termination of fixed charge notices must be readily accessible to all members of the Garda and the circumstances, factors and procedures applicable to the termination of fixed charge notices should be detailed clearly on the Garda website for the information of members of the public; and, 7. Where application is made to terminate a fixed ticket charge, where possible and appropriate, material to support any application made should be sought while understanding in some circumstances no such material may exist or be obtainable. These principles were applied by the Garda Inspectorate ... it is unacceptable for any member of An Garda Síochána to use his or her discretion in regard to the cancellation of fixed charge notices or penalty points other than in a fair and impartial manner in accordance with the criteria which apply.

The whistleblower plays an important role:

...in highlighting problems and helping to bring about real change. The most serious allegations specifically made relating to the fixed charge processing system and penalty points related to what were described as: shocking criminality by several Garda officers; serious fraud and corruption within An Garda Síochána; perversion of the course of justice by members of An Garda Síochána; Garda inspectors and superintendents perverting the course of justice on a massive scale; at least seven road fatalities resulting from the termination of fixed charge notices; hundreds of official Garda PULSE records altered and destroyed; and an allegation that the Garda had no discretionary power whatsoever to cancel notices.

There is to be an independent review of An Garda Síochána under the Haddington Road agreement. The terms of reference are:

To review and make recommendations on the use by An Garda Síochána of the resources available to it, with the objective of achieving and maintaining the highest levels of efficiency and effectiveness in its operation and administration.

The review shall encompass all aspects of the operation and administration of An Garda Síochána, including–- the structure, organisation and staffing of An Garda Síochána;

- the deployment of members and civilian staff to relevant and appropriate roles;

- the remuneration and conditions of service of members of An Garda Síochána, including an evaluation of annualised hours/shift pay arrangements;

- the appropriate structures and mechanism for the future resolution of matters relating to pay, industrial relations and attendance matters.

The other part of the review - dealing with efficiency, effectiveness, structure, organisation, staffing and deployment - will be carried out by the Garda Inspectorate.

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