Gardaí face fake breath test report difficulties

Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan’s failure to deliver an internal audit report into 1m fake breath tests and fixed-charge notices has been blamed on “considerable difficulties” in gathering facts, several months after the scandal broke.

A “confidential” internal Garda report into the affair, drafted by Assistant Commissioner Michael O’Sullivan and seen by the Irish Examiner, has stated the process will not be completed until July 31, after the Dáil rises for the summer.

As a result, the Public Accounts Committee, which will take evidence from the commissioner on Thursday, will not be in a position to probe her on the fake breath test issue until the autumn.