Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Purcell and his colleagues, and also the officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, to the committee. As the witnesses will the aware, this committee has been examining the issue of penalty points and fixed-charge penalty notice cancellations for some time. I think it is fair to say from our own examination of the issue that confidence in the justice system has been badly affected by the administration of the fixed-charge penalty notice system, highlighted by the Comptroller and Auditor General in his examination of the issues, and further confirmed, if I may say that, by the report from the Garda Síochána Inspectorate yesterday. The reason I want to ask the Accounting Officer questions about it is that it was reiterated yesterday in the report from the Garda inspectorate that legitimate revenue has been lost to the State. Does he accept the criticisms inherent in the Garda inspectorate's report in respect of the operation of the system and the recommendations in their entirety, and how is it proposed, essentially, to fix the system?