Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is unfortunate that the Tánaiste is again in the House to explain yet another scandal or crisis concerning her Department. I have lost count of the number of times she has appeared before us since our formation last June to explain what is happening in the Department. I am sorry to say that her speech was full of fluffiness and platitudes. The public is shocked, as are most Senators, by the latest scandal to hit her Department, this time concerning almost 15,000 sanctions and convictions over fixed notice charges and the 1 million breath tests that were recorded in error.

The Tánaiste stated that the scale of the problem had only been spotted recently. That is unbelievable. If it was only recent, when did the Garda Commissioner say that she became aware of the scale of the issue? Is it good enough that the Tánaiste was only informed of the scale of the issue during the course of a press conference last Thursday?

The integrity of the Garda is in tatters as a result of this situation. As the Tánaiste mentioned, data inform policy. How can we have an effective policy on drink driving, which is a serious issue that has resulted in many lives, families and communities being shattered, and say that we as a nation are on top of it? There have always been claims that drink driving legislation has not been enforced properly. Is this falsification of drink driving tests the result of calls for greater enforcement? Was it a means of providing promotional opportunities for various gardaí? I am concerned about the language that has been used in recent days. It seems that there is an attempt to shift blame onto the ordinary rank and file gardaí away from management and the culture at the top. I am not happy about that. The situation needs to be clarified from the top and there has to be a culture of change. Were unrealistic targets set by management and ordinary rank and file gardaí had no other option but to do this? If so, that is a serious matter.

The Tánaiste stated that she was informed in June 2016 but only became aware of the scale of the problem last Thursday. What was she informed of last June? What scale did she believe would be found by the audit? In 2014, Gay Byrne informed the then transport Minister, Deputy Varadkar, of this matter. Was any action taken then? Why did the Commissioner not inform the Policing Authority that a national audit was taking place? There were six meetings between the two. Surely something as serious as this should have been raised at those. Why did the Tánaiste not inform the Oireachtas last June? Even had the scale been much less than what it has turned out to be, it was still a serious issue. How on Earth can the Tánaiste now express confidence in the Commissioner? My confidence and that of my party is gone.

The timing of last Thursday's press release was cynical, in that it coincided with the burial of Martin McGuinness. That needs to be explained. If the briefing had only been planned for a short time, when was it planned? Perhaps something better could have been done in PR terms.

There has been a failure to explain the discrepancies around who has responsibility. The Government seems satisfied when the rest of the country is completely dissatisfied. That shows a lack of connection with the country.

The Tánaiste referred to the cost of the fixed notice errors. It is not acceptable that there is no estimation of the cost to the State of the fines, legal charges and compensation due to the people affected. These fixed notice charges ended up in court and took up precious court time when many serious issues had to be put on the back burner and were not dealt with effectively, never mind the stress and upset caused to people when presented with court dates.

The Tánaiste referred to lines of accountability. From what I can see, however, none appears to exist in the Garda. This is unsatisfactory. The integrity of the Garda is in tatters. I would like an explanation.