Gardaí should be required to provide a justification for speeding in the course of their duties to avoid punishment, according to the judge who oversees the speeding ticket system.
Judge Matthew Deery was appointed as the sole member of the Independent Oversight Authority for the Garda Fixed Charge Processing System Cancellation Policy six years ago. His appointment came following a series of scandals involving improper cancellations of penalty points by gardaí.
In his latest annual reports for 2019 and 2020, the judge said he is “uneasy” about gardaí being able to travel over the speed limit to get to court or while bringing a suspect to custody in a garda station.
The law should be amended to require that gardaí have to show why they were required to break the speed limit in order to avail of an exemption to road traffic rules.
This could be done through an amendment to the section 87 of the Road Traffic Act 2010, which provides exemptions for driving by emergency services.
Judge Deery, who was formerly president of the Circuit Court, made the recommendation on several previous occasions to no effect. However, according to the Department of Justice, a very similar recommendation contained in the recent Garda Inspectorate Report on countering corruption has been accepted by the Garda and the Department of Transport.
The next steps will be set out in the Department of Justice’s “implementation plan for the countering corruption report” which is due in autumn, it said.
Currently, gardaí can break the speed limit in both official and personnel vehicles as long as they can show they were driving in the course of their duty and that their driving did not endanger others.
Separately, Judge Deery found there was “substantial compliance” with the protocols for penalty point cancellations in the last two years.
Under the current system, penalty points can only be cancelled by one designated Chief Superintendent and two Superintendents. These three gardaí have “approached the task with considerable expertise,” Judge Deery said.
Judge Deery assessed the system by examining a random sample of incidents of cancelled penalty points from every three or four week period.
He said he examined files where gardaí used their discretion to cancel points, adding: “I would not disagree with the manner of the exercise of that discretion.”
These cases were few in number and supporting documentation was provided where necessary, the judge added.
Minister for Justice Heather Humphreys said she was pleased that Judge Deery’s reports “confirm that there is continued ‘substantial compliance’ with Fixed Charge Processing System policy and procedures”.
“I am very grateful for his important work, which remains crucial to maintaining independent confidence in the processing system. Judge Deery’s oversight report reinforces public trust in the process.”
