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Updated: 1.25 pm
GARDA HQ IS to be the site of a meeting later today between high-ranking Gardaí and whistleblower Sgt Maurice McCabe.
The Garda whistleblower was invited to the talks following new claims he made over the weekend that Gardaí are still cancelling penalty points for friends and family.
Acting Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan had already ordered a full audit of all penalty points cancelled since June, when a raft of new regulations came into force.
Notably, those regulations include the centralisation of the authority to cancel points at the Fixed Charge Processing Office in Thurles.
A Garda statement yesterday said O’Sullivan had forwarded McCabe’s most recent claims to Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald and requested an investigation.
The Minister agreed to the request and referred the allegations to the Garda Ombudsman Commission, who will now independently examine them.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice told TheJournal.ie that the new allegations had been sent to Fitzgerald “last week.”
The Minister, conscious of the need for continued public confidence in the integrity of the fixed charge notice system, and of the desirability of an independent investigation of the allegations in the public interest, referred the allegations to GSOC, also last week.
The Minister is not aware of the identity of the person who made the allegations, and the Garda Commissioner will liaise directly with GSOC on the matter.
RTE reports that McCabe’s new allegations relate to off-duty members cancelling points after falsely claiming they were driving Garda cars at the time of the offences.
John Devitt of Transparency International Ireland told RTE’s Morning Ireland that some of the penalty point cancellation claims had been forwarded to McCabe by a number of other Gardaí.
He added that the allegations related to a “significant number” of points being cancelled on spurious grounds, including “no known address” being listed, despite the points pertaining to serving Garda members.
Speaking to RTÉ’s News at One this afternoon, Fitzgerald said a “careful and comprehensive” investigation into the claims would took place.
What we have at present is a number of suggestions that the whole question of penalty points should be looked at again even though those new guidelines are in place.
Now what we have to do is investigate precisely what is being said, investigate it comprehensively and carefully and see what exactly will emerge.
The Fine Gael TD was at Templemore Garda College this afternoon to welcome 100 new recruits to the force – the first new batch since 2009.
There, O’Sullivan pleaded with reporters to avoid rushing to judgment:
To be fair, we are working with the information that has been made available to us.We are examining that information and we will establish exactly what the veracity or otherwise of that information is.
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If this is once again proved true then Gardai will need to lose jobs! A culture like this cannot exist in the Garda and a hard line stance must be taken!
Too right they should loose there jobs no prizes for guessing who is giving this comment the thumbs down.
dirty nGardai!
I’m sure minister Fitzgerald will commission a report to find out what went on…then a report to make recommendations to combat the practice, then a report to review the effectiveness of the first two reports.
“Internal disciplinary proceedings” will be the next buzz-term if any wrongdoing is found. Frances Fitz will not make the same mistake Shatter did. This one will fall squarely on the shoulders of the cops allegedly involved if it has any substance.
Once again we wait with baited breath to see if those found guilty will be properly punished. As those in charge are so fond of comparing procedures in Ireland to other countries how about this comparison. If a member of the police force in the United States is caught in a criminal activity they are suspended with pay during the investigation, which lasts a couple of months at the most. If found guilty they are fired and they forfeit their pensions.
We dont do things that way in Ireland.
Miscreants, or the purely incompetent, in public service here in Ireland are moved to a better job elsewhere or given an early golden handshake-happy days-early pension.!
Hogan Syndrome?
The public is weary of this ongoing penalty points saga in the Garda,it still points to a lack of management at senior level,it’s ok for the intrim commissioner to repeatedly smile whenever the camara’s are rolling, but she really needs to start to show she is capable of implimenting the reforms that are so glaringly needed, the citizens of the state are intitled to expect nothing less from those entrusted to enforce the laws of the land.
How long will criminal proceedings take in the case of any wrong doing.
I guess the first thing would be to determine whether cancelling penalty points for spurious reasons is a criminal matter. I’m not sure there is any specific crime involved. It seems more like a disciplinary issue to me, though perhaps the government should look at making it a criminal matter if certain areas of the gardaí refuse to take it seriously.
Abuse of authority in public office is a criminal offence. They just have to dust off this section of law. Has it ever been used????
It’s good to see that garda McCabe is not entirely alone in wanting the upper echelons of the police force cleaned up once and for all.
While top officers are appointed according to their political affiliation, and not on merit by an independent board, this stroke culture will continue.
Disgraceful conduct from those who are paid to uphold the law.
Good man, Maurice McCabe! And to the rank and file helping in exposing the few bad among the many good.
To protect and serve…..each other.
How are things in Los Angeles?
Where were Transparency International when GSOC refused to publish the report into their leak last week? Bit like Pavee point with their a la carte indignation.
Got stopped, fined, and three penalty points added to my licence last week. It’s tough to accept any of that when you see others successfully pulling stunts and getting completely away with it. Why are they allowed break the law, get away with it and Im not ? Must sort out that 80 quid for me fine now.
Neil drive safe and don’t do it again. The fine is tough though.
This saga will continue just like the church until the old guard has been removed
The Gardaí are a law onto themselves, they have been for a long time, I don’t know why this is such a surprise?
If the gardai are guilty of any wrongdoing then deal with it but if he is wasting time he should also be dealt with. The gardai are under resourced as it is without having a big investigation into penalty points which is no doubt if true only done by a minority of gardai. There are bigger fish to fry!
Ach sure it only the lads looking after their family and friends sure. And don’t we have heaps of water/ eviction protests to police and don’t have time for messing wi the lads!!!!!!
They should be arrested and prosecuted accordingly for corruption.
If any wrong doing is found this time, gardai heads will roll rather than ministerial ones, that’s for sure.
What the hell did people expect? Change??
The government replaced the justice minister with another member of the party of the Irish establishment, and the commissioner with his second in command, who sat by his side in solidarity during his entire disgraceful display at the PAC. Two people who guaranteed the status quo would remain.
one good coat of white wash and then we can go back to normal
This really has to stop – what they are doing is illegal and its not as if the legalities have not been highlighted over the past couple of years – what we have now is serving Gardaí knowingly breaking the law (no grey area this time) and it is simply incompatible with their jobs and responsibilities to be doing so.
It may be brushed off as simply a ‘clerical crime’ with ‘no physical harm done’ and just your traditional Irish ‘cat and mouse’ of trying to get away with something, however when one considers the businessman who a few years ago listed garlic as apples or onions on a revenue form (higher tax for garlic), similar game of ‘cat and mouse’, nobody physically injured etc – he received a prison sentence…………
It is not at all unusual for good hardworking Gardai to respond to an emergency using their own private car and at a time when they are not rostered. Some whistlebolwers seem not to be aware of that fact – then how would they?
All of these red thumbs! The garda press office is crazy busy today.
Well done Maurice McCabe,
On the other side of the coin, it is reassuring to find people in the force who have the ability to think laterally, outside the box.
The old adage. “It takes a thief to catch a thief” comes to mind.
There certainly are some brilliant innovative minds involved, considering all the furore that has taken place in the recent past.
Well said.
Keep giving the red thumbs you dirty Gards! It won’t change the fact that people won’t stand for your bullshit anymore. Lol.
The big taddle tale
Mr mccabe is wasting him time . Never never never (change)
Ha.
Maurice McCabe you must have a neck as tough as a jockeys bollix and great admiration is due to you. Dont lose faith because most law abiding people will stand by you.
Was it not the lax flamboyant Minister of Justice Alan Shatter who ignored the serious whistle blower warnings, considering a taxi driver was attacked and a person was killed. I think the new system needs time to work but if a future crime is committed on police negligence the police responsible should face dismissal from the force.
We have to allow for forgiveness and vow to never allow this happen again.
The majority of the police are reliable but as Mr McCabe showed us some are a law unto themselves and should not be in the police force.
have your say