Mr. Michael Finn:

In the case of MAT checkpoints, we record the date, time and location of a checkpoint and the number of vehicles that pass through it. We ask Garda members to record the specific number of people breathalysed, the number who tested positive, the number who tested negative and the members who operated and supervised the checkpoint. One of our difficulties was that we did not always record the data at the time. In many cases, data were recorded on a busy Friday night. Anyone who tried to get through to our call centre in Castlebar would have been waiting. Therefore, it would often have been the following day before a member would have had an opportunity to input information on a MAT checkpoint, or it could have been a few days later if he or she happened to be resting for the few days following a shift. I think this compounded our problems as to why the data were inaccurate.