Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As the clerk has indicated, the system operates efficiently and effectively for 70% of cases but in the remaining 30% half of the summonses are not served properly and there is no endorsement on two thirds of the offenders who come before the courts. That is incredibly ineffective. I hope that the consolidation and centralisation of the system to which the clerk referred will deal with the problem. It would require a degree of monitoring and auditing to ensure that it takes place in the short term.

I am concerned about vehicles that cross the Border. The cars may be stopped and intercepted in the Republic but they are under the jurisdiction of the other area. To what extent can we assess the loss to the Exchequer in respect of cases that are registered in another jurisdiction? Are there proposals to close that loophole because it is a two way process in regard to the island of Ireland but also in respect of the neighbouring island.

I am also concerned about the criticism in regard to the whistleblowers. The report was very good on the ineffective confidential recipient system. It was certainly not effective in the case of Sergeant McCabe. Has the committee made a suggestion on an alternative mechanism for internal complaints to be investigated? It would seem that GSOC would be the external independent body that should deal with internal complaints. This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed in the report. There should be recommendations on this issue.

My final point relates to the GoSafe cameras and the GoSafe contracts, which is separate from the Garda in the sense that it is operated by a private company and accounts for 22% of the camera intercepts, which is quite substantial. The 6.3% rate of cancellation of fines requires attention. Is it done internally by the Garda Síochána or by the private sector system? It seems strange that one of the highest rates of cancellations would be in the private sector, GoSafe cameras. It is not operating effectively, considering that €15.6 million is spent on the system and the return is only €4.6 million, with a loss of €11 million. As the report states, that €11 million on an annual basis would have been sufficient to refurbish the entire fleet of the Garda Síochána and make them more effective and efficient.

The future of the GoSafe cameras must be given very serious consideration. We should be coming up with a recommendation as to whether that should be dealt with on a different basis because it is one of the most expensive mechanisms of dealing with the issue. It claims that there is 89% to 99% compliance effectiveness where the cameras operate, yet the number of road fatalities has been increasing alarmingly in recent years.

There is a certain degree of contradiction that requires further investigation.