Varadkar: some Gardaí have abused discretionary powers

The Minister for Transport said it is certainly the case that some Gardaí have abused their discretionary powers when it comes to penalty points.

His comments come as the Garda Commissioner is due to appear before the Public Accounts Committee later this morning.

Martin Callinan's expected to dismiss allegations of rampant abuse of the penalty points system.

Minister Leo Varadkar says the best way to deal with the matter is to be upfront - and he says some officers have abused the system:

"We know what from the information given to us form the whistleblowers - we even know it from the Gardaí's own report," Varadkar said.

I think the best way the Gardaí can protect the reputation of the force is to be transparent and upfront, and to be very open about any misuse or abuse."