Dáil debates

Tuesday, 11 December 2012

Topical Issue Debate

Road Traffic Offences

5:15 pm

Photo of Mick WallaceMick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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Earlier today the Minister seemed to downplay the significance of the allegations reported by the two Garda whistleblowers. There also seem to be some discrepancies with regard to the timescale on this issue. The Minister says he only received news of this in September. I note that on the Matt Cooper show on Thursday, the Minister said he had sight of the documentation in question in early October. However, an e-mail from the confidential recipient, Oliver Connolly, to the garda in question, dated 21 June, stated that he personally delivered the garda's previous e-mail communication for the attention of the Minister and that he met previously with the Minister, just prior to Easter, regarding the matters of concern to the garda and presented his confidential report. It went on to say that he was doing what he could. In July another e-mail to the garda, from the assistant private secretary of the Taoiseach, following the garda's having written to the Taoiseach to alert him of the issues, stated that the Taoiseach had asked the secretary to refer to the garda's recent e-mail, the contents of which had been noted. It went on to say that the Taoiseach had asked the secretary to say that he had forwarded the garda's e-mail to his colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, for his attention and consideration. Furthermore, it stated the Taoiseach had asked the Minister to respond directly to the garda on this matter. This e-mail was dated 25 July 2012. As far back as February, when the garda went to the confidential recipient, the confidential recipient said to him that he believed the garda and thought the Commissioner had a case to answer. He said he thought the garda had the evidence. He said they had destroyed the garda, that a man only has his reputation and that if he, the recipient, was asked, he would say the garda was only standing up for what was right.

Obviously, the confidential recipient gave the report to the Minister and he passed it on to the Garda Commissioner. As a result, what we got was the Commissioner investigating himself. I believe it is time for a public inquiry, because the notion of the Garda investigating itself is not on.

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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On Friday, the Garda Commissioner, Martin Callinan, released a press statement saying there could be no question of what has been described as a culture of non-enforcement of penalties being tolerated. That is exactly the situation being spoken of. That is the only explanation for the termination of 100,000 parking, penalty and motoring offences. It is the only explanation for one senior garda being responsible for terminating 1,000 cases. Despite what the Minister said earlier, the Garda circular dealing with ticket cancellation policy, Circular 45/09, is incredibly restrictive and would not account for the number of cases terminated.

I agree with Deputy Wallace. The only conclusion we can draw is that this issue is being deliberately downplayed. The Commissioner has had this information since January. This is a Commissioner appointed by the Minister, whose contract has been extended beyond its normal life. Is it a coincidence that after the "Prime Time" programme last Tuesday, a confidential Garda memo, which I have here and which was sent to every member of the force, warned gardaí not to release Garda information to any external party, under pain of criminal prosecutions? The same memo said that the use of PULSE records would be audited and monitored in order to protect the reputation of An Garda Síochána. In other words, this memo was trying to intimidate whistleblowers, who are lawfully entitled to go to Members of the Oireachtas.

How can the Minister get to the truth when the Garda Commissioner has known about this since January and has done nothing about it? He was warned about perversion of the courts of justice by senior gardaí on a massive scale, as was the Minister. We need a full public inquiry into these allegations. The PULSE system needs to be seized, and IT specialists should be sent in to retrieve this information in the interest of road safety and revenue to the Exchequer.

Photo of Joan CollinsJoan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Minister says we are making big assumptions on this issue and that this is an everyday occurrence. That cannot be the case considering the number of cases Deputy Daly has mentioned as having been taken off the system. From the information we have seen, it seems there has been malpractice and systematic abuse of the system.

This is not a question of a few celebrities such as Ronan O'Gara, Paul Williams or Mary Devins, whom I mentioned last week, or other judges or multiple gardaí.

Photo of Joe O'ReillyJoe O'Reilly (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy cannot name names in the House.

Photo of Alan ShatterAlan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I must object. This is outrageous. The Deputy is deliberately trying to force the recording of names, contrary to the rules of this House, into the record, to the detriment of individuals who cannot defend themselves.

Photo of Joan CollinsJoan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Minister is the person who is supposed to protect the people and the law of this State. This is not a question of individuals.

Photo of Joe O'ReillyJoe O'Reilly (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I ask the Deputy to resume her seat. It is not permitted to name people in this manner. I ask her to resume her seat and call on the Minister to reply.

Photo of Joan CollinsJoan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Why is that?

Photo of Joe O'ReillyJoe O'Reilly (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy has named people in the House, which is an abuse of privilege.

Photo of Joan CollinsJoan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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It is not an abuse of privilege. Perhaps the Acting Chairman should check that with the Ceann Comhairle. I do not think it is.

Photo of Alan ShatterAlan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy knows it is. It is outrageous.

Photo of Joan CollinsJoan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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We have taximen who have lost their ability to protect their livelihoods because of penalty points.

Photo of Joe O'ReillyJoe O'Reilly (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I remind the Deputy that the naming of persons outside of the House is specifically regulated by Standing Orders and by the rulings of the Chair. The general practice is that such persons should not be named or referred to or identified, particularly where to do so would be an unreasonable invasion of privacy or where the reference could be in the nature of being a defamatory utterance under Standing Order 59. The persons who may be involved in the matter of penalty points, as raised in questions, are not guilty of any wrongdoing and are entitled to have their good names preserved. Therefore, I ask the Deputy to resume her seat as naming names is unacceptable.

Photo of Joan CollinsJoan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Well, I call for an independent public inquiry on this important issue.

Photo of Alan ShatterAlan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I want to put on the record that the behaviour of the Deputies is outrageous. There is a pretence at wanting a public inquiry, but in fact what the Deputies want is a hanging. They want to make allegations, to prosecute them and to assume everyone is guilty. Why? Because they are the recipients of allegations.

All of the issues raised by the three Deputies relate to the same topic which was discussed earlier this afternoon on Question Time. I am conscious of this issue and of its importance. There is little I can say on the matter that has not already been covered. However, in the context of an issue raised by Deputy Wallace, it is true and correct that these matters came to my Department in September and it is true and correct that I did not have sight of them until early October. The reason for that is, as the Deputy may have noted, that I was unwell for a two-week period and was not in a position to deal with matters for those two weeks. I presume that is not an issue about which the Deputy cares greatly.

The allegations referred to by the Deputies 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. Of course, if they were cancelled, the result would be that penalty points were not applied. The allegations appear to be made on the basis of records of cancellation on the Garda PULSE system. The Deputies seem to be of the view that the Garda PULSE system should be accessible by anyone and that all information from it should be distributed, not just to Members of this House, but to members of the media. Clearly, that has happened in this case and that is a gross violation of confidentiality in the context of the workings of the system.

Fixed-charge notices are an alternative to prosecution and 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. With regard to the cancellation of fixed-charge notices, it appears from media reports of recent days and comments made in the House 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. Apparently, the view is that any individual who has such notice cancelled should be named and shamed in this House, which is a total disgrace. The assumptions made by the Deputies are incorrect. I am concerned that the outcome of the investigation being conducted into the allegations is being unfairly prejudiced and I urge caution.

It seems not only that the Deputies want to impugn the entirety of the Garda Síochána, but also that they now have the Garda Commissioner in their aim.

I emphasise that the allegations that are the subject of this Topical Issue came to the notice of my Department in September and to my personal notice in early October. As far as I know and have been advised, the allegations were not brought to the notice of the Garda Commissioner until we wrote to him. The same individual may have been making complaints about other matters to the confidential recipient. As far as I know, they were not these matters.

Following the introduction of fixed charges, the Garda established a policy and procedures on the termination or cancellation of fixed-charge notices. They were set out in 2005 in the third edition of the full user manual on policies and procedures in the fixed-charge processing system. In essence, the policy and procedures give district officers, inspector acting district officers and the inspector in the fixed-charge processing office the authority to cancel fixed-charge notices, in line with the policy and procedures framed around legislative exemptions contained in road traffic legislation and regulations and in conjunction with the specific guidelines issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions. Specific procedures are in place for the cancellation of these notices.

5:25 pm

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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Exactly.

Photo of Alan ShatterAlan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The cancellation policy also seeks to reflect the guidelines of the Director of Public Prosecutions for prosecutors and the Garda declaration of professional values and ethical standards, both of which govern other factors that adhere to the principles of fairness and proportionality and provide that in pursuing their public duties, gardaí are required to adhere to the principles of legality and apply the law in a manner that is fair, equitable and appropriate to the particular circumstances of individual cases. In essence, 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. Gardaí at the rank of superintendent, district officer or inspector acting district officer have the discretion to authorise cancellation in appropriate circumstances. I illustrated some of these circumstances during Question Time. There are exemptions relating to emergency vehicles or in cases where a medical necessity has resulted in an individual speeding. I want to absolutely confirm that these allegations will be fully and properly investigated. The result of the investigation will be made known. There is no question of a conspiracy or cover-up, regardless of how much the Deputies want to advocate that there is.

Photo of Mick WallaceMick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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I have not insinuated in any way that none of these terminations should have happened. I have said that the scale is frightening and merits serious investigation. It looks as if there is a serious delay in dealing with it. The termination of fixed penalty notices was mentioned in the original correspondence in January. The notion of hanging people is not something I am remotely interested in. I am not worried about the individuals who are on the list. I am worried about the massive scale of it and the implications for road safety and the running of the Garda Síochána.

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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On the day the extension of penalty points into other areas is being discussed, it is absolutely critical that a transparent system is in place and that residents and citizens can stand over it. We are not making any assumptions. We are alleging, based on evidence we have seen, that a culture exists that allows one to have one's motoring offences and penalty points written off as long as one knows gardaí. That has been confirmed to me in the correspondence I have received from numerous gardaí in the past week or more. It is not the case that there was just one whistleblower - there were two. Information on ticket-fixing was brought to the attention of the whistleblower by the second person in April of this year. Nobody is saying there are no exceptions, or there should not be any exceptions. That does not explain how a judge who sits in judgment on other people could have three instances of termination, how one garda could write off a thousand cases or how 200 Garda cases could be written off over an August bank holiday weekend. I remind the House that citizens who have eight or ten penalty points have loaded insurance premiums because they do not have the benefit of knowing a garda. On the basis of what the Minister has said and in light of his inaction and that of the Garda Commissioner since January, it seems that the blue wall of silence, which the Minister spoke out about in the aftermath of the Morris tribunal, is still in place. The Minister has done nothing to protect honest gardaí who want to clean up the situation.

Photo of Joan CollinsJoan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I will be brief. Deputy Daly has made most of the points I wish to make. We need a public inquiry to reveal any discrepancies or malpractice that might exist in the system. If the Minister is so confident that such practices are now taking place, he should have no problem clearing the way for such an inquiry to take place. It would be good for the country if people were to be assured that there is not one law for well-connected and wealthy people and another law for the ordinary Joe or Mary who happens to find himself or herself in circumstances in which penalty points might be applicable. The ability to work of people in the taxi industry, for example, can be affected in this way. That has to be addressed. The system has to be seen to be fair, clean, open and transparent. Everybody who has penalty points should have to appeal them in the proper way.

Photo of Alan ShatterAlan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I reiterate what I said during Question Time. Everyone should be treated equally and fairly in the context of this matter. I am simply not prejudging the allegations that have been made, which is what the Deputies are doing. As I read it, the express allegation - or certainly the implication - is that anyone who has had penalty points or fixed charges set aside has benefited from wrongdoing.

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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No.

Photo of Alan ShatterAlan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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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.