Dáil debates

Tuesday, 11 December 2012

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions

Penalty Points System

1:45 pm

Photo of Pádraig Mac LochlainnPádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide an update on any internal inquiry currently being conducted following reports from a garda whistle blower (detail supplied) that a number of persons had penalty points written off; if he has met with the Garda Commissioner regarding same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54672/12]

Photo of Alan ShatterAlan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The allegations referred to by the Deputy are not that some people have had penalty points written off, but that in a number of cases members of the Garda Síochána have inappropriately cancelled fixed charge notices, mainly for speeding. The allegations appear to be made on the basis of records of cancellation on the Garda PULSE system. Fixed charge notices are an alternative to prosecution. They give a motorist the opportunity to acknowledge the offence, pay the fixed charge and, where the offence is a penalty point offence, incur the appropriate penalty points. If the motorist does not pay the fixed charge, he or she will in the normal course be prosecuted for the alleged offence.


With regard to the cancellation of fixed charge notices, it appears from media reports of recent days, and comments made in Dáil Éireann, that there is an assumption that any termination of a fixed charge notice is illegal and that any individual who is the recipient of such notice which is subsequently cancelled is being afforded special treatment. Both assumptions are incorrect. I am concerned that the outcome of the investigation being conducted into the allegations is being unfairly prejudged and I would urge caution in this regard.


There can be circumstances where the fixed charge notice may be cancelled in accordance with Garda procedures drawn up in light of legislative exemptions and prosecutorial guidelines. Termination or cancellation occurs where it is believed the evidence would not sustain a prosecution or a prosecution would not be appropriate, fair or proportionate. Decisions on terminations or cancellations are governed by Garda policies and procedures, framed around the legislatorial and prosecutorial guidelines issued by the DPP.


Members of the Garda Síochána at the rank of superintendent district officer or inspector acting district officer, therefore, have discretion to authorise cancellation in appropriate circumstances of fixed charge notices. These can include situations where, for example, exemptions apply in relation to emergency vehicles; where there are evidential difficulties, such as where the registration number registered by a speed camera does not correspond to the vehicle in question; where there are emergency medical circumstances such as, for example, a medical certificate relating to the wearing of seat belts; a sick child being driven to hospital; an imminent birth; a medical professional rushing to a sick or elderly patient; a driver of an ambulance response vehicle. Access to terminate a fixed charge processing incident through PULSE is restricted to users with a rank of inspector or higher.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House


I confirm that these allegations were forwarded to my Department by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport in September, and, subsequently, by the Department of the Taoiseach, also in September. Following consideration of the documentation the allegations were forwarded to the Commissioner last October. The Garda Commissioner has appointed an Assistant Commissioner to conduct an examination and to report on the allegations. I have received an interim report from the Commissioner, but I will not be making any comment on any of the allegations until the final report is available. These allegations are being taken seriously and are being thoroughly investigated. However, it would be premature and wrong to assume that all of these cancellations of fixed charge notices were inappropriate. I caution against any rush to judgment before all the facts are known. As the Garda Commissioner has said, this would be unfair both to members of the Garda Síochána and the motorists concerned. We must await the outcome of the investigation, which as the Commissioner has said will be both comprehensive and rigorous. I have every confidence that the investigation directed by the Commissioner into the allegations will be conducted professionally.

Photo of Pádraig Mac LochlainnPádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister will agree that this is a very serious issue relating to public confidence in the Garda Síochána. I agree that a superintendent has the power to cancel penalty points on receipt of an appeal in writing which outlines the grounds why the points should not be applied. As the Minister has outlined, this is justified in some instances. However, there is no clarity for these decisions. It is also not clear whether the internal Garda report will be published. I ask the Minister to confirm that he will publish the report and that this practice will cease immediately. I note that Conor Faughnan regards this matter as very serious. The Garda Síochána needs to take it seriously and to be aware of the damage. Even if 20,000 of the 50,000 cases were found to be not in accordance with the criteria or not lawful, this would amount to €1.6 million of taxpayers' money. Perhaps the most important issue is that of public confidence. The public must know that the playing field is level for everyone, that it does not depend on status. Unless there are exceptional grounds such as those listed by the Minister in his reply, penalty points cannot be written off. The fine must be paid and the penalty points must be applied.

Photo of Alan ShatterAlan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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It is of the utmost importance that the integrity of the fixed charge system is preserved. When the Deputy said this must stop, I presume it is not his view that where there are appropriate circumstances for a fixed charge to be cancelled, that it should not be cancelled. I gave the Deputy instances of the type of circumstances that can arise. The Deputy may be interested to know that in the three and a half year period from 1 January 2009 to 30 June 2012, a total of 1,460,726 fixed charge notices were issued. The allegations I have received, when examined, apply to fewer than 300 incidents. These are allegations.

From the interim report I received, I have noted that some of the cancellations of fixed-charge notices relate to ordinary individuals who are not VIPs or other such individuals. At least one person has been very unfairly named in this House. The individuals to whom I refer are those in circumstances in which a car identified as speeding is not the actual car owned by an individual who has received a ticket. There have been other instances, including one in which a young child was being taken to hospital in an emergency.

I take allegations of this nature with the utmost seriousness, as does the Garda Commissioner, who has appointed an assistant commissioner to conduct an investigation and report on the allegations. My Department received the allegations last September and they were referred to the Garda Commissioner in October after they had been considered. I have received an interim report from the Commissioner, but I will not be making any comment on any of the allegations until the final report is available. These allegations are being taken seriously and investigated thoroughly, but it would be premature and wrong to assume that all cancellations of fixed-charge notices were inappropriate. I would caution against any rush to judgment before we know all of the facts. As the Garda Commissioner has said, this would be unfair to both members of the Garda Síochána and the motorists concerned. I urge Deputies to await the outcome of the investigation that is under way. When the outcome of the investigation is known, I will bring it to the attention of Members.

In so far as there is any suggestion that the Garda is not doing its job properly in regard to speeding, fixed-charge notices and the road traffic legislation, Members should note the interesting statistics on total annual road fatalities between January and the end of November in each of a number of given years. At the end of November 2007 there had been 300 fatalities on the roads. At the end of November 2011 there had been 168, and at the end of November 2012 - this year - there had been 152. One hundred and fifty-two people too many lost their lives on our roads this year, but the decreasing number of fatalities indicates that the Garda takes very seriously the application of the road traffic regulations to individuals. The vast majority of individuals are aware of this, and the vast majority of those who receive a fixed-charge notice pay the fine. However, we must preserve a system in which there is a basis for cancelling notices where they are issued inappropriately or disproportionately or where a mistake is made whereby the wrong individual receives a notice.

1:55 pm

Photo of Pádraig Mac LochlainnPádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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Everybody agrees that there ought to be an arrangement for exceptional circumstances. I am asking whether the Minister is seriously suggesting there are just 300 questionable cases, not 50,000, that must be examined. Regardless of the percentage, 50,000 represents a high volume of cases, which needs to be considered. I would like to have heard from the Garda Commissioner prior to the process. There is a paper trail with 50,000 written appeals in line with the guidelines and criteria. The Minister's statement that he has every confidence that there are only a few questionable cases is not in accord with what we are hearing. This is a very serious matter. We need to end the arrangement whereby one can make a telephone call to have one's details removed from the computer. From now on, we need clear written criteria that will apply on a case-by-case basis and in which every citizen can have confidence.

The points system, including the option of paying an €80 fine, has saved considerable court time and prevented considerable expenditure. It has the confidence of the public. The problem that has arisen is serious and could undermine the system. The Minister must move swiftly to deal with the issue.

When will the report by the assistant commissioner be completed? When will the Minister bring it before the House and make the recommendations? When will the disciplinary measures be taken, if necessary?

Photo of Alan ShatterAlan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The individual who has made complaints in this area has made a calculation of the alleged total number of fixed-charge notices cancelled. The calculation, as furnished in the allegation I saw, gave rise to an assumption that every single cancellation was inappropriate and due to some inside influence. Let me make it very clear that on my watch as Minister for Justice and Equality I will not accept the preferential treatment of any individual. I want every individual to be treated fairly under the law and to have his good name protected in circumstances in which there is no wrongdoing. As I said to the Deputy, there is an assumption that if a fixed-charge notice is cancelled, there has been wrongdoing. This is not the case. There are strict guidelines, to which I made reference in my reply. It is important that the guidelines be adhered to. In that context, it is important that the investigation that is under way be comprehensive and completed fully, and that the full story, rather than a story based on an assumption, become known. It should not be assumed once a fixed-charge notice is cancelled that there has been some wrongdoing, because that is not the case. If it turns out that there has been wrongdoing, so be it. There should be transparency in this regard and I have no difficulty with it; I am merely asking Deputies to be cautious in what they say until we see the outcome of the investigation. I expect to have the outcome early in the new year. We all have information with some individuals named therein. I ask Deputies to desist from naming individuals or attempting to name them in this House or outside it on the assumption that the individuals have been guilty of some wrongdoing. If one has truly been given names of individuals, one will know that some of the fixed charges that have been cancelled relate to individuals who are not celebrities or others known to the media. They are probably not known to the people who received the information. Some are individuals who wrote genuinely to the Garda authorities having received a fixed-charge ticket. They may have explained their circumstances or raised an objection which, having been examined by the Garda authorities, was regarded as valid.

There should be transparency. The public must be reassured that the fixed-charge notice system applies without fear or favour to everybody in the State, regardless of who he is, the position he holds, the job he does or whether he is known. Should it appear that there are procedural arrangements that need to be tightened up or that a different approach needs to be taken, I assure the House that I will communicate my view thereon to the Garda Commissioner. In the meantime, the Garda Commissioner must be allowed to facilitate the assistant commissioner who is investigating these matters to complete the investigation.

Photo of Pádraig Mac LochlainnPádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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I asked whether the Minister will publish the report.

Photo of Michael KittMichael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I believe the Minister dealt with that.

Photo of Alan ShatterAlan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I said to the Deputy that I will publish the outcome of the investigation that is under way.

Photo of Michael KittMichael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I understood that.