A report reveals that six senior garda figures continued cancelling penalty points, including their own, after such practice was to be stopped.
The practice of cancelling penalty points by gardai, either to their own advantage, or that of others, is morally dubious at the very least, if not downright illegal, more so because it was an activity routinely done by those in charge of enforcing road safety.
But tales of morality appear to have been devoid of meaning for at least six senior garda figures, who continued removing penalty points from drivers’ records. These points would sometimes be their own, sometimes not. Such covert deals would suggest a ‘I scratch your back, you scratch mine’ approach to their day to day goals.
The report has uncovered evidence that senior officers cancelled points and seven cases where points were cancelled on ‘questionable grounds.’
A total of 54 breaches of policy were identified. Six Garda superintendents or acting superintendents were found to have acted in breach of policy, despite an awareness of previous disciplinary action against colleagues, and also in spite of clear directions from current and former commissioners stating that the practice of canceling penalty points was to cease.
Out of 16,000 canceled penalty points, 660 were found to be in need of further examination.