Public ‘still respect gardaí’

Ms Cunningham said the wrongful conviction and breath testing controversies have been ‘regrettable’ – but that the public still had respect for the garda on the ground doing his or her job.

‘I think the wrongful conviction first of all of 14,500 people is something that is very, very regrettable. For people who have never been into a court before it is a very intimidating place to go and for people who have had an impeccable record and suddenly this injustice is done, I can understand why they feel rightfully aggrieved by that,’ she said.

When asked to comment on the inflated breath test figures, the AGSI boss said she should wait for the results of the internal investigation, but it seems there were ‘multiple’ factors at play: ‘The Policing Authority has to examine, so to pre-empt that wouldn’t be the right thing to do.’ Ms Cunningham added that despite the damaging controversies, the public still seems to have great respect for gardaí.

‘I can’t say our members have suffered a negative impact because of it. They are doing a job and I think the public respect the job that they do. We can’t take the relationship for granted, we have to respect it and nurture it all the time.’