Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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113. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the date on which the Medical Bureau of Road Safety notified An Garda Síochána of discrepancies between its figures for breath tests performed and Garda figures; the person or body within An Garda Síochána this information was passed to; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16068/17]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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115. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of drink driving tests carried out between 2012 and 2016, in addition to the previously reported figures for such testing, by year and Garda district, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16070/17]

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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116. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the involvement of the Garda traffic corps in the false tabulation of the figures that have emerged with regard to the controversy over breath test statistics and fixed notice fines. [16112/17]

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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117. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the detail of the figures related to the roadside breath testing issue and the fixed notice fines from each Garda division, on a regional basis, in tabular form. [16113/17]

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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119. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason the Garda Commissioner failed to inform the Policing Authority of the emerging circumstances since 2014 surrounding the system for recording roadside breath tests. [16115/17]

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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120. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the way in which An Garda Síochána discovered the discrepancies in the figures for roadside breath tests. [16116/17]

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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121. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the cost to the State of the administrative errors on the part of An Garda Síochána with regard to the issuing of 14,700 fixed notice fines. [16117/17]

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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123. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she or her officials received correspondence, communications or information from An Garda Síochána concerning the eventual discovery of inflated breath test results; and the chronology of these communications. [16119/17]

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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124. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the solutions An Garda Síochána arrived at to resolve the problems that emerged through the audit of the roadside breath tests. [16120/17]

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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125. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the details of the underlying problem and the way in which An Garda Síochána arrived at the solution to the problem of the recording of roadside breath testing, in view of the fact that a solution was implemented in November 2016. [16121/17]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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142. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of mandatory alcohol testing, MAT, checkpoints and breath tests respectively in each division in each of the years from 2011 to 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16594/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 113, 115 to 117, inclusive, 119 to 121, inclusive, 123 to 125, inclusive, and 142 together.

The Deputies will be aware that on 28 March 2017 I made a detailed statement to the House on these matters and endeavoured to answer a range of questions which were put to me.

I can inform the Deputies that since then I have written to the Chairperson of the Policing Authority in accordance with section 62O(6) of the Garda Síochána Act, 2005 (as amended) to report to me on its oversight of the issues which have arisen in relation to fixed charge notices and mandatory alcohol testing over the coming period. In particular, I requested that an investigation should be conducted to examine all issues arising, addressing to the extent possible the reasons why the issues have arisen; the incidence and scale of the issues; and the solutions implemented to ensure there is no recurrence. It is expected that the Authority will engage outside expertise to carry out this work.

Deputies will appreciate that I need to await the conclusion of the Authority's work in this area before I can give a comprehensive and verified response to some of the issues raised in these Questions.

An anonymous complaint was made by a person claiming to be a member of the Garda reserve in the Western Region to the Road Safety Authority (RSA), outlining a number of issues which included the operation of Mandatory Alcohol Testing (MAT) checkpoints.

The RSA forwarded the correspondence to the (then) Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, who wrote to the Garda Commissioner in April 2014. He copied the correspondence and the letter to the Commissioner to Minister Shatter on 11 April, 2014. Minister Shatter wrote to the Garda Commissioner on 16 April, 2014 seeking a full report on the findings of an examination of the allegations.

An Garda Síochána indicated in a detailed response to my Department in May 2014 that they had looked into the claims regarding MAT checkpoints in the Western Region and they were satisfied that correct procedures were in place to account for MAT checkpoints that ultimately did go ahead and those which did not proceed. The response was general in nature.

The report indicated that further enquiries were to be conducted, and accordingly the Garda Commissioner was asked by my Department on 18 August, 2014 for an update on this matter. A further Garda report on 8 January, 2015 indicated that it was not possible to consult with the author as they had not been identified and that, given the circumstances, the matter could not be progressed.

Following a submission of these reports to me on 21 January 2015, a letter issued to the Garda Commissioner at my request, asking that the Commissioner consider whether there was scope for issuing any further instructions from Garda management re day-to-day operations in relation to MAT within An Garda Síochána.

In response to that letter, a further Garda memo was received dated 2 March 2015. It indicated that the Assistant Commissioner Traffic had been directed to issue an instruction regarding monitoring the mechanisms in place surrounding the operation of MAT checkpoints.

On 10 June 2016, An Garda Síochána notified my Department that, following an audit of the Southern Region in respect of data from the period 2009-2014, discrepancies had been identified in the breath test data held by An Garda Síochána on the PULSE system and, consequently, in the data published on the Garda website. That same month, An Garda Síochána directed that a National Audit should take place of all the data recorded on the Garda PULSE system relating to the number of roadside breath tests conducted at MATs in each Garda Division. This audit covered the period 1 January 2009 to 30 June 2016. A notice to this effect was published on An Garda Síochána's website in June 2016. In February this year, An Garda Síochána indicated to my Department that the full results of the breath test statistics' audit would be available by the end of Quarter 2 2017.

As regards An Garda Síochána's communication of the concerns surrounding the system for recording roadside breath tests to the Policing Authority, I would refer the Deputies to An Garda Síochána's public comments on this matter.

Insofar as the issues concerning Fixed Charge Notices (FCNs) are concerned, my Department was first made aware of a number of errors relating to the Fixed Charge Processing System (FCPS) on 10 June 2016. In a press statement issued on the same date, An Garda Síochána confirmed that it had commenced a review of prosecutions in relation to all fixed charge offences. The letter from An Garda Síochána in June 2016 indicated that a number of steps had been taken by them to ensure that no further summonses could be issued in error. They had issued an instruction to the Garda Information Services Centre not to issue any more summonses for not having an NCT certificate and an instruction to all members to (i) withdraw any prosecutions based on summonses which issued where a fixed charge notice should have issued, or where one had already issued and had been paid and (ii) refamiliarise themselves with the FCPS Policy and Procedures manual. They indicated that they were working on a short term IT fix which would be ready within four weeks to ensure that a reoccurrence could not occur and were developing a long term IT solution which would be ready for a PULSE release towards the end of 2016. They also indicated in the letter that in order to establish the extent of the situation, each District Officer had been asked to supply additional information and that the extent of the issue would not be known until that additional information had been received.

An Garda Síochána subsequently provided a further update to my Department on 14 March 2017 in relation to its review of the errors surrounding fixed charge notices. The letter indicated that the review of all summonses issued in respect of fixed charge notices for the period 1 January 2014 to 27 May 2016 had been completed and that, following consultation with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, a review of all such summonses dating back to the introduction of fixed charge notices in 2006 was under way.

As the Deputy is aware, the full statistics in relation to the FCN review for the period dating back to 2006 were presented by An Garda Síochána at its press conference on 23 March 2017. In addition, An Garda Síochána also presented at that press conference, for the first time, the figures in relation to the huge disparity between the number of breath tests conducted at MAT checkpoints as per PULSE records, compared to the number of test kits used. The Deputy will appreciate that no further statistics / statistical breakdowns in relation to either issue are available at present.

The Deputy will be aware that An Garda Síochána has confirmed that it has put solutions in place to deal with the procedural and practice issues that have been detected to ensure that such errors do not recur. Specifically, I have been assured by An Garda Síochána that a permanent and comprehensive IT solution is now in place to cover the majority of FCPS issues identified and An Garda Síochána is satisfied that the errors that occurred cannot be repeated. In the case of breath tests / Mandatory Alcohol Testing, I am informed that An Garda Síochána initially put in place new paper based recording and verification processes, and, in November 2016, a new specific data recording IT upgrade was installed on the Garda PULSE system. The net effect of the new IT upgrade was that personnel now have to record the serial number of the device used for each breath test plus the meter reading before and after the checkpoint was concluded. Data from the device is now used to verify the total number of breath tests conducted at each checkpoint.

Insofar as the 14,700 people convicted of road traffic offences in court following the incorrect issuing of a summons are concerned, An Garda Síochána has indicated that it is establishing a dedicated support helpline for members of the public with queries in relation to their case. An Garda Síochána is also writing to all affected members of the public, explaining what has happened and outlining the solution to rectify the situation. An Garda Síochána has indicated that it has been advised by the Director of Public Prosecutions and Courts Service that these 14,700 cases must be brought back before the Courts at Circuit Court level with a view to requesting that the erroneous convictions can be set aside. An Garda Síochána has established a dedicated team to this end and is liaising with the Court Services to expedite this process. As such, members of the public affected by the road traffic enforcement errors referred to are requested to await the aforementioned correspondence from An Garda Síochána which will provide further clarification on the matter.

The Deputy will appreciate that it is unclear at this stage what the total cost to the State of the incorrect issuing of summonses to 14,700 people by An Garda Síochána will amount to, as the level of penalties imposed on the people convicted on foot of a summons issued to them arising from an erroneous procedure is not yet known. Many persons convicted (correctly) for a number of offences may have had the offences arising from the erroneous procedure simply taken into consideration, with no additional penalty being imposed. However, persons who were fined, following a conviction for an offence that they should not have received a summons for, will have to be repaid. It is not possible at this stage to estimate the potential cost. I have already outlined that An Garda Síochána is actively engaging with the Courts Service in relation to progressing these important matters.

The Deputies will be aware that in addition to outlining the issues, how they had come to light, and the remedial steps taken so far, at her press conference on 27 March 2017 the Commissioner:

- announced the restructuring of traffic policing with the creation of a new Roads Policing Unit to be led by Assistant Commissioner Mick Finn;

- announced the creation of a dedicated team under newly appointed Assistant Commissioner Michael O’Sullivan to investigate in detail the MATs issue, including with a view to identifying and holding responsible for their actions any Garda members, whether at junior, supervisory or management level, who acted improperly; and

- committed to forwarding the report of this investigation to the Policing Authority and Department of Justice and Equality when completed.

Assistant Commissioner Finn outlined new arrangements agreed with the Medical Bureau on Roads Safety (MBRS) to the effect that body would supply An Garda Síochána with its data on breath-testing devices on a quarterly basis, in order to ensure an independent benchmark against which Garda data can be measured. The MBRS will shortly be tendering for new breath testing equipment. New equipment which is available in the market place has the capacity to record the time, GPS location and number of persons breath-tested, and has the capacity to download the information automatically reducing the chances of errors occurring in the data.

Insofar as other specific information has been sought by Deputies it has not be possible to compile this in the time available but I am seeking this information from the Garda authorities and will communicate further with the Deputies.

In light of the level of public concern, the Government has today approved the commencement of a process to establish a Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. The Government has reaffirmed the need for the extensive reform programme already underway within An Garda Síochána to continue, and to ensure the work of the oversight bodies is not impeded by the establishment of a Commission. I set out in my statement earlier today some of the issues that I believe should be addressed. Drafting of the Terms of Reference will involve consultation with opposition parties and relevant statutory bodies including the Policing Authority, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman and the Garda Inspectorate and I intend to begin these consultations immediately. Once this consultation process has been completed, I will return to Government with proposals for the establishment of the Commission and draft terms of reference.