Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In January of this year, the Garda professional standards unit, GPSU, finalised a report on penalty points, which had been analysed, and statistical breakdowns were provided. There were hundreds of cancellations over the course of a year in respect of statutory exemptions and emergency vehicles. Would it not be prudent to audit these statutory exemptions? It would not be a huge amount of work for the GPSU or the Garda inspectorate and it would reassure the public the exemption is being deployed in the way outlined. I do not think anyone can argue with what has been said. We do not want to punish members of the emergency services, no matter who they are, for doing their jobs on our behalf. However, we also want to ensure that nobody thinks he or she is above the law. Is there a role for the inspectorate or the GPSU to play in going back and doing an audit to ensure it is being honoured as would have been expected? The audit would be carried out in partnership with the justice, of course.