Penalty points - Culture of force needs to change

It is unsurprising that Commissioner Martin Callinan defended the Garda handling of the penalty points controversy at yesterday’s Public Accounts Committee hearing. That he might do anything else is unimaginable, it would certainly be unprecedented.

Nevertheless, he did acknowledge that the flexibility and discretion built into the system led to, in a very small number of cases, abuse and inequity. He also acknowledged inconsistency in how discretion was applied. He did point out though that procedures have been revised and best practice underlined to ensure that the system is fair and is as far beyond question as any process where police officers and miscreant drivers interact. If that was all there was to the controversy then it could be put aside, but unfortunately it is not.

Commissioner Callinan’s declaration that he will seek legal advice on whether or not the two gardaí who first brought the abuse to public attention might be prevented from giving evidence to the PAC is a sinister, dangerous declaration from another time. It is unacceptable and dangerous autocracy. Commissioner Callinan’s tacit threat reeks of intimidation and the culture of omertà that has debased public life and service for far too long. It also is reflective of the we-know-best unilateralism that has undermined faith in the gardaí.

Commissioner Callinan’s phraseology — “I cannot be usurped by subordinates coming in to use this committee as a platform” — suggests an attitude, an imagined role as final arbiter that is just wrong. If that was not enough it also seems of limited value because if Commissioner Callinan succeeds in gagging these officers it is all but certain that a counterclaim, and one that would have great public support, would be launched immediately by the PAC.

The force’s reluctance to engage with the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission is another manifestation of this imagined independence. This behaviour is in direct conflict with Government commitments on accountability and transparency and on promised legislation to protect whistleblowers.

Throughout this furore Justice Minister Alan Shatter has maintained a public silence on Commissioner Callinan’s efforts to retrieve files from the PAC and how the whistleblowers were treated by some officers investigating the affair. That silence cannot continue after yesterday’s declared ambition to prevent state employees giving evidence to an Oireachtas committee — no matter whose toes might be trod on.

We are fortunate that we have, by and large, a decent and reliable police force. It is well supported, albeit in varying degrees, a fact underlined by the 20,000 applications for 300 places recently advertised in it. This relatively happy situation should not be taken for granted but neither should it allow the force to imagine itself unaccountable or beyond the reach of parliament. In this instance it is necessary that Mr Shatter makes a statement to reassure the public that the gardaí will reflect government policy on accountability, transparency and whistleblowers.

That would not be interfering but rather ensuring that the principles of reform and accountability endorsed by the electorate are recognised as proactive imperatives in all our public service.