GRA’s contradictory car-crash interview with RTÉ
RTÉ crime correspondent Paul ReynolDS: ‘let’s take it step by step, just a simple answer, did they [rank-and-file gardaí] falsify figures? Forget about the pressure and duress for a moment, did they falsify figures? yes or no?’ GRA spokesman John o’Keeffe: ‘GRA members did not falsify figures.’ RTÉ: ‘But you said they did falsify it and they did so because they were under pressure?’ GRA: ‘GRA members did not falsify figures. GRA members were told to elevate figures by middle and senior management, and those figures were elevated thus.’ RTÉ: ‘That’s falsification.’ GRA: ‘They did not falsify them. The falsification occurred in middle and senior management, not at the lower ranks.’ RTÉ: ‘So explain that to me. They gathered all these false figures and they put them into the system. But you’re saying they didn’t falsify them, even though they’re gathering them. They gave the numbers in.’ GRA: ‘The GRA membership did not falsify the breathalyser data statistics. They did not falsify any of those. The falsification came from middle and senior management who put them under pressure to elevate those figures. RTÉ: ‘But hang on a second. The falsification began with the false figures from the checkpoints of which the gardaí were on.’ GRA: ‘The falsification did not begin there, it began with the pressure from senior and middle management to elevate figures. That’s where this process began, it didn’t begin on the street, it didn’t begin during checkpoints. It began at the very beginning, when these people were told if they did not elevate these figures, there could be issues.’