Time for tanaiste to break startling silence

DURING her press conference, the Garda Commissioner said no deliberate distortion of facts or falsification of figures had yet been established. This is, quite literally, incredible. Commissioner O’sullivan’s position seems to be that almost a million mistakes might have happened over recent years. Exaggerated numbers of breath tests – almost a million of them – were recorded. Whether this happened deliberately or by mistake, somebody must accept responsibility for either position. We also discovered from Deputy Commissioner John Twomey that a problem in relation to fixed charge notices was identified as far back as early 2016. Yet, this issue has only come to light this year. What we saw yesterday is further evidence of a culture in An Garda Siochana where no responsibility is ever taken. The Commissioner has announced her investigation will focus on gardai, on supervisors and on managers. But if responsibility for this saga is spread this widely across the organisation, then it must also lie at the top level of that organisation. It is beyond time now that we hear from the Tanaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality. We need to know now whether the reform agenda in An Garda Siochana is to have meaning. Will we, for example, now see the work to date of the Garda Inspectorate put into immediate operation? The silence of the Tanaiste over the last few days has been startling. Indeed, it is becoming clear Government has yet to comprehend the enormous damage done to public confidence in policing in this country.