Blow to gardaí as CSO delays stats

An Garda Síochána’s credibility has suffered another blow after the CSO decided for a second time not to publish Garda crime statistics.

The decision was made after Garda bosses told the CSO they had ongoing doubts over the quality of their homicide data — and wanted to carry out a “deeper” examination.

It comes as Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan was expected back in Ireland after attending a conference in Europe, amid ongoing calls for her to step down over the breath test and penalty point reports.