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Report into allegations of penalty points abuses due 'within weeks'

A report into allegations that the penalty points system has been abused by gardaí will b...
Newstalk
Newstalk

13.04 16 Sep 2014


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Report into allegations of pen...

Report into allegations of penalty points abuses due 'within weeks'

Newstalk
Newstalk

13.04 16 Sep 2014


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A report into allegations that the penalty points system has been abused by gardaí will be completed in a number of weeks.

The Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald says the report will be published once it is finished.

Ms Fitzgerald says as part of their investigation, gardaí will listen to the views of the whistleblower Sergeant Maurice McCabe - who brought the allegations to light.

And she said Interim Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan will complete the investigation quickly.

It comes after garda whistleblower John Wilson claimed that gardaí failed to serve over one third of summonses over a three year period.

Mr Wilson, who is now retired from the force, says figures he has obtained from the Courts Service show that while over 1.6 million summonses were issued between 2009 and 2012, 646, 509 of them were not served by gardai.

Mr Wilson believes the vast majority of those emanated from non-payment of fixed penalty point notices.

An Garda Siochana has admitted to Lunchtime with Jonathan Healy that the serving of summons is an issue that needs to be addressed.

"There are long-standing issues in this area outside of our control such as people deliberately evading being served with a summons, people moving and not providing a forwarding address, foreign nationals leaving the country before they can be serviced or before paying, and drivers being from other jurisdictions.

"On matters within our control, a team was established under a Chief Superintendent to actively examine how the rate of summons serving can be improved and to regularly monitor the level of summons service throughout the country. The service of summons is on the agenda of management meetings in all divisions and members have again been made aware of the importance of ensuring every effort is made to serve summonses."

Whistleblower John Wilson spoke to Lunchtime with Jonathan Healy about the issue stating: "I retrieved a limited amount of information and confirmed the information that I received. There was, and is, a serious issue with court summonses."

 
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