Justice & Equality Committee to consider recent Garda issues with Acting Commissioner

Committee Chairman Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, TD, said: “Tomorrow, the Committee will resume its hearings on a number of recent issues in relation to An Garda Síochána, including the falsification of breath test numbers carried out by Gardaí, errors in relation to fixed charge notices and the child protection audit commissioned by An Garda Síochána.

"It has been widely accepted that the breath test scandal where nearly 1.5 million falsified breath tests were recorded on the Garda pulse system and the revelation that nearly 15,000 people were wrongly convicted of motoring offences having paid fixed charge notices has damaged the reputation of An Garda and public trust in the organisation. Tomorrow, we will consider these issues with Acting Garda Commissioner Dónall Ó Cualáin. It is an opportunity for members to discuss with senior Gardai how the situation is being dealt with by the service. We will also discuss the recent audit of the emergency removal of children from their families by Gardaí under Section 12 of the Child Care Act, which was carried out by Dr Geoffrey Shannon, the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection.”

Before the Committee meets with the Acting Garda Commissioner, it will discuss a proposal re European Travel Information and Authorisation System with the Minister for Justice and Equality. This meeting will start in Committee Room 2 at 9am on Wednesday, 4 October 2017.

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