Seanad debates

Wednesday, 14 May 2003

Having heard that the penalty points system was to come into effect, I was appalled to hear that the internal Garda report had been leaked to RTE. It stated it could not be done. Nobody knows who leaked it but we can be sure that it did not benefit the Government. It benefited those who were calling for the delay of the system. We need more decisiveness from the Government from time to time. I do not know what happened behind closed doors but having said the system was too difficult and the computers did not work, the Garda came back and stated it would implement what the Minister wanted. We need more of this because it is very easy to obstruct, delay, object and obfuscate by saying something cannot be done. That is the way the Civil Service operates when it does not want something to happen. That is the way the Opposition operates when it finds the Government is on to a good thing. There are several Ministers who are decisive. The Minister for Finance does not take too much notice of his civil servants or the servants of the State when doing something they do not like. I applaud the Minister for Transport for coming out and saying the system was going ahead. I applaud him for not accepting the funding argument as presented. I also applaud him for ignoring the Garda objections at the time that the computers would not work because they have. All the other rhubarb in the motion is irrelevant because it has worked.

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