Garda anxious to testify on abuse of system

The Garda whistleblower at the centre of the alleged widespread abuse of the penalty points system is so angry at the lack of progress that he had offered to appear before the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The sergeant has written to the committee saying he is anxious to give evidence as soon as possible and discuss the contents of the “box of evidence” he handed over to the PAC chairman John McGuinness.

Yesterday, Mr McGuinness revealed the PAC has agreed in principle to invite the whistleblower in “because he has given this information in good faith and it has to be examined”.

“The reason why the whistleblower came forward again was because he was encouraged by Justice Minister Alan Shatter to put up or shut up” said the Carlow/Kilkenny TD.

The whistleblower suggested he appear next January when the Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan is due to discuss the finding of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (C&AG) report which revealed one in five motorists avoided penalty points because their cases were not pursued.

The C&AG’s report published in October contradicted the internal Garda inquiry completed in May which found no evidence of widespread abuse of the penalty points system.

Mr McGuinness, who wants the C&AG to examine the contents, also raised concerns about the whistleblower’s employment saying he is being treated very badly in his job, was concerned about his position and wasn’t fulfilling all the duties as he normally would.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Marian Finucane show yesterday, he raised fears that the garda may be victimised like a female whistleblower at Fás training courses in the north-east who complained as recently as last week that she has no work to do.

“So the system has now dumped on her. It is disgraceful and I will be raising it in the Dáil this week because it’s unfair that she is being penalised,” he said.

The “box of evidence” which the Irish Examiner revealed was handed over earlier this month, is expected to contain previously undisclosed data from the Garda Pulse System which the whistleblower says will show how millions of euro are being lost to the exchequer due to widespread abuse of the penalty points system.

The PAC has resisted a demand by Mr Callinan to hand over the dossier of files until it receives legal advice from the Oireachtas legal team on whether it can examine its contents.

The Garda Commissioner’s demands were supported by the Data Protection Commissioner Billy Hawkes who said a criminal offence may have been committed by the garda who handed over the documents.

However, Mr McGuinness and other politicians believe the garda is protected under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 which refers to revealing confidential information to TDs and senators “where relevant to the proper discharge of the member’s function”.

The Data Protection Act 1988 permits disclosure of information when it pertains to “monies owed or payable to the State”.

Mr McGuinness yesterday said the PAC did not wish to break the law and, if necessary, it would redact the names in the files.

However, he said once the “financial end” of its contents were examined, the evidence should be handed over to the Garda Ombudsman or the justice minister for further investigation.

Sinn Féin’s Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, who raised the issue at Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil last week, welcomed the garda whistleblower’s willingness to appear before the PAC hearing, saying its contents will be a major embarrassment to those who would not listen to the garda’s concerns.

“This garda has performed one hell of a public service to this country. He and others have exposed the widespread abuse of a system where those in society with so-called connections could get off penalty points. New guidelines issued mean that abuse has been stopped and lives have been saved,” he said.