Mr. Mark Toland:

"On duty" is much easier to determine. If a garda is on duty and driving a Garda car, I would expect the garda to notify any control room if he or she is driving at an excessive speed or trying to catch up with a vehicle. That should all be recorded by the control room and a supervisor should take care of it in that regard. There is tracking technology in Garda cars but it is not switched on in all of them. The tracking system will tell us how the car is being driven, the speed at which it is being driven and where it was at a particular time. We are saying that technology should be switched on immediately. It is much better for vehicle deployments but South Wales have also found it reduced collisions involving police officers by 50%. Another police service referred to in the report found that its level of vehicle repairs reduced by 20%. I was a police driver myself. When we know we are being monitored, we will drive at a higher standard. The technology is fantastic and available and should be switched on.

The concept of "off duty", where police officers decide they will place themselves on duty because they have seen something, is far more difficult a concept but it is still possible to check CCTV and a senior officer should investigate the circumstances. I would expect an off-duty member to inform a control room and a supervisor immediately on doing something. Ideally the member would have the registration number of the car or details relating to what they have done but this has to be examined to ensure a garda is treated the same way another member of the public would be treated. Was it justified in the circumstances for the officer to drive at excessive speed or go through a red light? Some times it does occur when the garda is off duty. This has to be examined to ensure it was legitimate and the correct action taken.