Don’t allow few to taint all gardaí

The concerns of the Garda Inspectorate penalty points report should be addressed immediately by the Government.

Our unarmed gardaí are all that stand between the preservation of a reasonable level of safety and a breakdown in law and order.

The misdeeds of a minority of gardaí should not detract from the excellent service ‘the force’ has provided. We hear of scandals affecting the clergy, the legal profession, doctors, property developers, bankers ... the list is a long one, but just as we can’t condemn all of the people involved in these professions, neither should we taint all gardaí.

Let’s remember the men who gave their lives fighting crime in our name, and remember, too, the many male and female gardaí injured in the line of duty, also in our name.

The whistleblowers deserve great credit for exposing behaviour that must have no place within a ‘force’ that includes the brave men and women who risk life and limb to protect us from criminals.

Equally deserving of praise are the TDs who took a risk to highlight the penalty points issue, especially Clare Daly, who is one of the most principled politicians ever to enter Dáil Eireann, despite the snide attacks on her by some media commentators.

I believe she is helping to rescue Irish politics from the swamp of sleaze and ‘cute hoorism’, where it has languished for far too long.

The Garda Síochána will be the better for extracting the bad apples from within its ranks and ending unacceptable practices that, unfairly, give the entire force a bad name.

John Fitzgerald

Callan

Co Kilkenny