Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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62. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to request an independent investigation of the management of the fixed charged notice and penalty points system following the recent report from the Comptroller and Auditor General, as well as the ongoing media reports regarding the alleged termination of penalty points for journalists, judges and a State solicitor. [46620/13]

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I invite Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn to introduce the question.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister has the question. I will use my 30 seconds more effectively after he has spoken.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I am sorry, but the Deputy has to use the time at the start.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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It is a nonsense. For God's sake, everyone has the question. What can I say about a question that is already available?

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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This is the first time I have heard anyone on the Opposition side of the House complain he or she has been given a speaking slot. I think it is for the benefit of those who actually watch these proceedings and those who are in the Visitors Gallery in order that they know what the question is about. It is welcome that the Deputy is doing this within the rules of the House. It may well be in the context of the question tabled that the Deputy wishes to extrapolate. It is my understanding this is an option, but it is for Deputies to decide how they want to use the new procedures available.

I very much welcome the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General in his report on the Garda fixed charge processing system. The report followed the report by Assistant Garda Commissioner, John O’Mahoney, on allegations of the improper cancellation of fixed charge notices. I published the O’Mahoney report and also a related report by the Garda professional standards unit earlier this year and referred them to the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality.

There are some differences in the extent of the reports in that the O'Mahoney report was an examination of specific allegations rather than a general examination and it covered a longer period than the report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, of three and a half years compared to two years. However, both reports identified approximately the same rate of cancellation of fixed charge notices of up to 5%.

Most importantly, the O’Mahoney report broadly identified the same key issues of concern relating to the operation of the fixed charge processing system identified by the Comptroller and Auditor General - namely, a failure to follow cancellation procedures in a significant number of cases, a lack of adequate record-keeping, and what in some cases was quite frankly too great a readiness to accept unconvincing justifications for speeding and other road traffic offences. The Deputy will recall that when the O'Mahoney report was published, I referred to some of the decisions made as being "exotic".

There is no doubt that the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General reinforce the concerns identified by the O’Mahoney report about weaknesses in the fixed-charge notice system. What is needed now is corrective action to tackle the concerns identified by these two reports, and I am glad to say that action has been and will continue to be taken. Disciplinary proceedings have been taken against a number of members of the Garda Síochána, and a number of others have been advised of the requirement to follow correct procedures. A new Garda directive on the cancellation of fixed charge notices was issued to the entire force on 30 August 2013.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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The Comptroller and Auditor General's report revealed that half of summonses were not served and one in five motorists facing fixed-charged notices were getting off. It was much clearer than the previous report carried out by An Garda Síochána, and that is why we must have an independent examination of the issue. Just as important, there are ongoing reports in the media about judges, a State solicitor and senior journalists who allegedly had penalty points terminated. I am not aware of any court cases being taken by the people who have been accused of this, so until court cases are taken I can only assume the reports are correct.

For public confidence to be restored to the system, people must see that the same rule applies to everybody no matter who they are. The vast majority of gardaí in Garda districts enforce the law properly, as was made clear in the Comptroller and Auditor General's report, but some, unfortunately, do not. In some areas, people of influence were able to get points terminated, which is unacceptable. It is not acceptable to the Minister, to me or to anybody else. Could we have an independent examination that could clear up the issue once and for all so that we can start afresh?

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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At this stage we have had an examination as published in the O'Mahoney report, another Garda report and, now, the Comptroller and Auditor General's report. There is a need to significantly tighten procedures for cancellation and that should result from the instructions given on 30 August 2013 by the Garda Commissioner. He has accepted and will implement specific and helpful recommendations contained in the report by the Comptroller and Auditor General on further improving the fixed-charge notice system and how it interacts with the Courts Service and driving licence system.

In the context of the Deputy's reference to people getting off, the courts are independent and there have been a number of instances in which people have been summonsed and gone to court but judges have not imposed fines on them. That is a matter to be dealt with by the courts, with judges exercising their independent judicial discretion. It is certainly not an issue into which it would be appropriate to conduct any inquiry.

As I previously indicated, I have referred the two Garda reports to the independent Garda inspectorate to seek advice on any additional measures that may be desirable, and I expect to receive a report from the inspectorate in the near future. As I have also mentioned, reports have been referred to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, which is independent. If it has anything further to say on the issue or recommendations that have not already been made, they will be given serious attention.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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Is the Minister concerned about allegations made by a number of media outlets, including The Guardian, which is one of the most respected international media outlets, that senior journalists who worked directly with gardaí had penalty points terminated? Is he concerned about media reports that at least two judges allegedly had penalty points terminated? There was also a report about a State solicitor. No person in the State could accept it if what has been alleged actually happened, particularly as these people are supposed to hold justice and democracy to account. How does the Minister feel about those allegations?

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy should know if he has ready the O'Mahoney report and the larger report furnished to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, all of the issues he has raised have been addressed. There is nothing new in any of these matters as far as I am aware.

Nothing new has been reported in the media other than a look back at matters that were the subject of public comment and controversy earlier this year. These are all issues that are addressed within the O'Mahoney report and the detailed report that was published subsequently. The Deputy is a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality and if issues arise from the report that he believes are appropriate to pursue in the public interest, he should pursue them. I would be interested in any conclusions the joint committee reaches on what are issues of importance, but let us not exaggerate the situation. The vast majority of fixed-charge notices are paid and no issue arises. In 50% of the notices that were cancelled there were incontrovertibly valid reasons for their cancellation, such as cases in which a person received a notice and it turned out that the registration number of the car in question was not the same as that of the person's car. A range of issues of that nature arose where fixed-charge notices were issued to what turned out to be unmarked Garda cars on duty and in pursuit of individuals.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister. We must move on to the next question.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Let us not exaggerate the extent of the difficulty in this area. I personally look forward to and welcome the changes that have been implemented to tighten up procedures. I have no doubt the Garda Commissioner is keeping a very strict watch on the manner in which matters are being dealt with.