Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is the way the allegation is framed. The Deputies know that. It is the story they are trying to put out. If there has been wrongdoing and fixed charges have been improperly set aside, of course I would want to know about it and there should be transparency about it. If some kind of corrupt culture exists, we would want to know about that too. I do not know that to be the case. It is being investigated by an assistant commissioner. Specific procedures, legal provisions and guidelines from the Director of Public Prosecutions ensure there are circumstances in which fixed-charge notices are terminated. That has been entirely ignored in the allegations that have been made, although I have put it on the record of the House. It was not contained in the letter setting out the allegations. The allegation is that as part of a widespread conspiracy, tens of thousands of fixed charges are being written off. In the context of what has come from a person whom I assume to be a member of the Garda Síochána, there is no acknowledgement of what the legal position actually is.

I understand from the Garda Commissioner that 1,460,726 fixed-charge notices were issued in the three and a half years between 1 January 2009 and 30 June 2012. The documentation forwarded to the Commissioner contained 402 allegations. When an examination of the allegations identified some that had been duplicated, the number of actual allegations listed was reduced to 197. While many of the listed allegations mentioned specific instances, in some cases instances were mentioned without any details being provided. Several allegations are not quantifiable because they are quite vague, merely citing hundreds of cases. Allegations that can be followed up from the information supplied will be examined. I want to make it absolutely clear that there will be no cover-up of anything on my watch. I have asked for this matter to be fully investigated and for me to receive a report on it. When I am in a position to report to the House on the outcome of the investigation, I will do so. If I form the view that something unsatisfactory is arising in the context of the outcome of the investigation, I will ensure it is addressed. I want to assure people outside this House that if they receive a fixed charge, it is a serious matter and they should meet the payments due on the fixed charge. If there are extenuating circumstances and there is a valid reason for them not to pay the fixed charge, I remind them that a procedure whereby they can set out the issues they want to raise with the Garda Síochána and seek to have the fixed charge set aside has been in place for many years.

If they believe it is not fairly dealt with, they are under no obligation to pay the fixed charge. The alternative is that the Garda can issue a summons and the matter can be properly dealt with independently before the courts.

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