Penalty points scandal - Minister must do the right thing

There could scarcely be a more damning indictment of the Garda operation of the penalty points system than the independent Garda Inspectorate report which, as even Justice Minister Alan Shatter has finally been forced to admit, highlights “major administrative dysfunction and a failure of management oversight”.

Nor could there be a more resounding vindication of Garda whistleblowers, Sergeant Maurice McCabe and former garda John Wilson, shamefully treated by the force and let down by this Government. Instead of getting the support whistleblowers deserve, they were undermined and isolated at immense cost to career and health — for having the courage to highlight abuse of the fixed charge notice system.

If anything, what the inspectorate has unearthed goes far beyond the Government’s worst fears. It discovered “consistent and widespread breaches of policy” by those charged with administering the penalty points system. With few exceptions, it found no meaningful evidence that management would have detected and rectified the problem. In future, it adds, the quashing of points should be handled centrally.