Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 13 July 2017

Public Accounts Committee

2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána

9:00 am

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the Commissioner is putting that on the record, let us be clear I did not use the word "sinister". When the Commissioner is correcting the record, she should at least listen to what people say because I never used the word "sinister". I think it is reasonable for me to put to the Commissioner that she and her organisation found out about this in late-2015. We are in the middle of 2017 and she is still not in a position, as the head of the organisation and its Accounting Officer, to tell us what happened. That is the point I am making. I will give an example of why I am frustrated.

I am looking at the two interim reports. There is an issue which - pardon the pun - is breathtaking for me. I cannot understand how the information on the Dräger equipment and specifically procurement is still not available to us. Information on the number purchased and the number distributed to the various divisions compared with the number of breath tests recorded on PULSE is not available. The same issue is referenced in the interim report of 26 June 2017. It lists under the heading of issues to be dealt with and information sought the national Dräger audit to acquire the most accurate figure for the number of breath tests recorded on the Dräger machines and also the number that were procured. How is it not possible to provide us with that information? It seems to me to concern basic purchasing of equipment. The Garda purchases and pays for a set number of mouthpieces and equipment and then a set number is used. Perhaps the Commissioner is in a position today to give us that information but up to now she has not been. Questions were asked about procurement earlier. Does the Commissioner have that information to hand today?