Movement on penalty points GSOC probe

The long-awaited GSOC probe into the penalty points affair is finally moving ahead as recruitment of external investigators begins.

Up to 10 private investigators are being sought to carry out the probe over a 6-12-month period during which they will be travelling around the country collecting Garda records and interviewing motorists and members of the force.

At the conclusion they will have to make recommendations as to whether criminal offences have been committed; prepare prosecution papers; and take part in any court proceedings.

Similarly, if they conclude there has been misconduct requiring disciplinary proceedings, they will also have to be available to participate in any subsequent hearings.

The sensitivity of the work is such that ex-gardaí are prohibited from joining the investigation as is anyone who has ever worked for the force in any capacity or had a service contract with it.

Also automatically excluded is anyone who has ever had a fixed charge notice issued by the Gardaí cancelled on their behalf – even though some notices are issued in error and legitimately cancelled. All those recruited will be subject to the Official Secrets Act.

A year and a half has passed since then justice minister Alan Shatter directed the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission to take on the investigation.

It was sparked by revelations by garda whistleblowers Maurice McCabe and John Wilson that gardaí were involved in widespread cancelling of fixed charge notices for people of influence – including serving members of the force – to keep penalty points off their licences.

The initial dossier covered the years 2009 to 2012 but fresh allegations subsequently emerged that the practice continued in 2013 and 2014 even after the controversy erupted in 2012.

GSOC had hoped to have an interim report ready by now but signalled within months of being assigned the task last year that it would need extra manpower for what it warned would be a “wide-ranging” probe and an additional €1m in its budget to pay for it.

Extra funds were cleared by the Government late last year and GSOC said analysis of the task at hand and preparatory work for the investigation had been carried out by its own staff but it required “special assistance” to make further progress with its inquiries.

GSOC is looking for a single contractor to provide a team of investigators rather than having to recruit personnel individually.

Interested parties have another fortnight to respond and if selected, will have to submit their personnel for security clearance, a process GSOC says takes 6-8 weeks, so it could be November before the first investigators are on the case.

The penalty points affair has already been the subject of inquiries by Garda HQ, the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Public Accounts Committee, the Garda Inspectorate and Government appointed barrister Sean Guerin, and it contributed to putting both Alan Shatter and the former Garda commissioner out of their jobs, but the GSOC investigation is the only one with real potential to bring about disciplinary or criminal proceedings.