Doubts at scope of Garda fake breath test probe

Senior gardaí are coming under pressure to explain the exact scope of the investigation into the recording of fake breath tests after it emerged the Road Safety Authority (RSA) had expressed concerns that a case of one garda breathalysing himself to boost figures was not part of the probe.

Correspondence between the chief executive of the RSA, Moyah Murdoch, and Assistant Garda Commissioner Michael O’Sullivan, who is leading the probe, shows Ms Doherty stating she felt one documented case of a garda allegedly using a breathalyser on himself in order to produce false results could possibly be symptomatic of widespread practice, and that this should form part of the investigation by senior gardaí into the fake tests.

The documentation, seen by RTÉ’s This Week programme under Freedom of Information, thrust renewed focus on the scope of the garda investigation into 939,000 false breath tests.