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FOR 38 MINUTES yesterday afternoon, Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan fielded questions from a rabble of journalists gathered in a stiflingly hot briefing room at Garda Headquarters.
How on earth did almost a million breath tests that never happened end up on the internal garda system?
Were gardaí making them up?
Does this have anything to do with the massive cuts in resources over the last ten years?
Will she consider her own position?
How can she expect the public to have any confidence in An Garda Síochána as a police organisation anymore?
O’Sullivan began by referring to a media briefing last week given by Assistant Commissioner Michael Finn where he outlined massive errors that led to almost a million phantom breath tests being logged on the Pulse system and hundreds of thousands of drivers receiving summonses they should never have been sent.
“It’s a departure from what we would normally do, but it is part of the change we are undergoing,” she explained.
These briefings are part of the culture change in the force, she stressed – a demonstration of a new openness and transparency.
“We have heard very, very carefully, the disquiet around the issues and also the call for further and more detailed information,” she continued, adding that she recognised there were “very, very serious issues” and she is conscious of the impact this has had on public confidence in the organisation.
So, first question. It came from RTÉ’s Paul Reynolds, who bluntly kicked it all off with: “How did this happen? Do we have thousands of gardaí effectively making it up? Is there that level of fraud?”
“There is no doubt that this is a very, very serious issue that we have to get to the bottom of,” replied the Commissioner.
As I said earlier, Assistant Commissioner Michael O’Sullivan, the newly appointed assistant commissioner, is tasked with exactly that, identifying exactly where this was happening, who was doing it and what precisely were they doing and if we identify, in any case, that there is deliberate – let it be distortion of facts, deliberate falsification of records or any of that – the appropriate action will be taken.
“You must have some idea what’s going on? … And people really want action now.”
“Well, we are taking action and we have taken action – we’ve taken action from the moment this came to light. And what we have to do is satisfy ourselves as to what precisely happened that led to the creation of these records. Who is responsible for that and to make sure that if people have done something deliberately wrong or if they have made some error, that they are held accountable for that and that the systems and governance processes that are there are equally examined to make sure that they’re robust.”
On to resourcing: “Would the Commissioner commit to bulking the Traffic Corps back up?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
Starting this year, the intention is to increase the size of the Traffic Corps by 10% year-on-year.
O’Sullivan acknowledged there had been a significant depletion of the Traffic Corps in recent years and in supervisory management right around the country.
If this has led to members being careless or deliberately keeping inaccurate records – “This does not make it okay,” she was quick to add.
“A no confidence motion in you has been tabled by Sinn Féin – will you step down if the country’s lawmakers vote against you?”
I think from 2014 when I took up this position on an acting interim basis, I think I made very clear my commitment to making sure the cultural organisation and the administrative reform that was needed to bring this organisation into the 21st century happens and happens in a real way and we began a journey in 2014 to get that done – that’s continuing.
“But, if the Dáil votes no confidence in you next week – will you remain on as Commissioner?”
I have a journey of work that I have to do and I have to see that I see out that commitment and to make sure that the foundations of what is a modern professional police service that delivers the cultural reform, the structural reform, and the organisation reform that’s necessary to achieve that is put in place.
“Can we just get a straight answer – will you stay on if the Dáil votes no confidence?”
“I am absolutely committed to making sure that we continue to deliver on the transformation and the change and the reform agenda that we committed to government that we would do.”
“You’ve been through all the ranks of the organisation – have you ever come across anything like this before while you were in those positions?”
“Well, firstly, unfortunately, I never served in the traffic police bureau and I never served in traffic and in fact, you know, I never even used a Drager [breath testing device], as an example, but that doesn’t in any way diminish what we have found here,” she said.
The reality is, what we have to look at is, get to the bottom of what has happened here, who has done what and where was it done and as soon as we have that we will have more answers.
The Commissioner finished up with some of her own questions:
“How come this never came to light before? How come this was never challenged before?
“Those will be answered – they hope – by Assistant Commissioner Michael O’Sullivan’s investigation.
What next?
Garda management provided a detailed timeline of how this controversy was uncovered, outlined the measures they have put in place to stop it happening again in the future and revealed they hope to have a report back in three months from their internal investigation.
They also stressed that if someone is found to have done wrong, action will be taken.
After 38 minutes of openness and transparency, having been told they were given ample time to question management on how this scandal came about, the now-subdued mob of reporters started to filter out of the room, none-the-wiser.
The most important question – how did this happen? – for now, remains unanswered.
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Problem was known by commissioner 3 yrs ago.The manufacturer of white tube blew the whistle.thats the only reason the public know.
@mdmak33. But surely Someone should call the Gardai..they’ll know what to do….
@@mdmak33: my guess is that the database that stored the info somehow duplicated all the results. Thsts why one million became 2 million. It’s the only logical explanation.
@Peter Cavey: You’re joking, right?
How about just reporting on events at the Press Conference and sparing us the snideness of the headline & the sarky tone throughout? Well capable of reading into the answers ourselves with a Fox-News type interpretation being spoon fed to us?
@@angrymanwithissues: Spoon. Fantastic band
@@angrymanwithissues: If anything the article isn’t critical enough of a Garda top brass who conspired to destroy the lives of multiple individuals who exposed corruption and malpractice in the police.
@Benjy Dooley: Yeah. You see that’s what has the world banjaxed. Every media outlet putting a slant on everything. Journalism used to be about laying the facts out in front of you & letting you make your own mind up. It had integrity.
@@angrymanwithissues: yes rate, the independent and Irish press, totally unbiased reporting, you moron.
@@angrymanwithissues:
Here’s some facts about from the the O’Higgins Inquiry outlined in the Examiner.
“Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan claimed Sgt Maurice McCabe was motivated by “malice” when he highlighted malpractice in the force, documents from the O’Higgins Commission of Inquiry show.
At the very early stages, the inquiry was told by senior counsel for Ms O’Sullivan that evidence would be produced to show that Sgt McCabe had told two other officers that he was making his complaints because of malice he harboured towards a senior officer.
The inquiry was informed that the two officers had taken notes at the meeting in question and prepared a report which was forwarded to a senior officer.
However, a few days after the submission, Sgt McCabe informed Mr O’Higgins he had a tape recording of the meeting in question.
The commission took possession of the recording and arranged for a transcript to be created.Mr O’Higgins indicated that the transcript coincided precisely with Sgt McCabe’s version of events and was in conflict with the allegation that he had told the two officers he was motivated by malice.
Following that, no evidence to show malice was called from the two officers who were at the meeting.
However, the failed attempt to impugn Sgt McCabe’s character did not appear in the O’Higgins report. The retired judge stated that Sgt McCabe was an entirely truthful witness and his bona fides were fully accepted”.”
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/garda-commissioner-claimed-maurice-mccabe-was-motivated-by-malice-399303.html
Does that help you to make up your mind about the Commissioner?
@@angrymanwithissues: How about if you don’t like it, don’t read it.
@joe o hare: Hey Joe. After your lobotomy you may need to have issues, and most likely big words explained to you by media outlets- and most likely by nurses with glove puppets. But those of us in full control of our faculties can do it ourselves. But hey. Thanks for the note.
@Benjy Dooley: I wasn’t commenting on the Commissioner one way or the other. I was commenting on the bias inherent in the Journalism. Now. As a Solidarity supporter you might be a fan of their slant, given that the Gardai have a habit of stopping your lot imprisoning middle aged women in cars- but just because you agree with the bias of a journalistic piece, doesn’t make it right. There used to be a thing called Journalistic objectivity.
@@angrymanwithissues: errr that’s what Michelle did – she reported.
Her tone was fine – and possibly reflected what happened at the press conference
@EUGENE 70 percent: Says you. A lot of people seem to have detected what I detected.
In any business it costs money to check, test or calibrate.
How on earth did the amount of tests carried out (without associated costs) not raise eyebrows?
It is really pushing it to have people believe that no one knew what was going on.
This is not an issue about resources. Lack of resources should mean fewer checks, not more!
71 false entries…..per Garda!! 930,000 divided by 13000= 71!
@Colm Feighery: Very scientific! Are they all working in the traffic core?
@Soccer T’s: Gnardai checking their own breath after a few pints I think!
@Gearoid Mag Leannáin: wasn’t there gardai stopping business men on their way home from the pub breathalysing them, getting a wad of cash and sending them on their way.
Not measured scientific…. An example to show the widescale abuse, ya knob
@joe o hare: you’ll have to elaborate on this one
@Soccer T’s: corps…..
i just hope she comes clean and tells us all why they won’t sack her. she must have some dirt on someone to have remained for so long with so many scandals.
end of the day, the rank and file i have the pleasure of meeting are sound. sure theres always the odd bad one but i get that in lidl or tesco or the hospital and the like. but to have such a concentration of bad ones at the top causes a systemic failure for the entire force.
does she allow the garda that watch her house pee there or are we still paying for two shifts at a time so the lads get relief?
@Living The Laws: Those angelic rank and file were the ones reporting fake tests
Michael Noonan!
@Soccer T’s:
do you think all of them were involved? or the vast majority? such co-ordinated effort must be instruction from the top.
@living the laws,You don’t need to instruct gardai to be corrupt,it comes with the feeling of being above the laws they are sworn to uphold.
@Mo: Possible, All police forces world wide keep files on politicians. Even if laws change those files are still kept, and can be released to a compliant journalist to spread rumors. It’s a form of blackmail, that’s the way it’s always been. Ireland is no different.
Have rank and file Gardaí perjured themselves in court over this issue? It’s hard to see how that didn’t happen. Certainly I’d turn up to court to defend a case if I didn’t commit the alleged offence.
But she is doing a good job investigating the murders in Tuam, fearlessly exposing church and state coverups, expertly through her diligence and passionate leadership turning Enda and Noonan and Martin into warriors for justice, as they face down the Bishops ……No wait that was an alternative Garda Commissioner in a parallel universe..
Saw her on the news with Brian Dobson-what a load of hot air.shes lying through her teeth.very amateur performance.
They must have been multiplying the figures little by little as they were being handed up the chain of management without knowing what was being done lower down.
She’s trying to reform but she’s up against an obvious backlash from the force. They were never going to roll over. They are doing their best to discredit her and bring her down. Irish institutions just don’t like change.
They are??? Oh God, the Garda are now believing fake news and conspiracy theories…
@Soccer T’s: I think you’ll find that it was O’Sullivan who was trying to discredit McCabe etc in the most vicious way possible.
@Soccer T’s: she has done a great job of discrediting herself.
So we have gone from the “Blue Flu” to a sticky guuuu, Question is who is stuck on the Fly paper.
The Commissioner intellectually understands the problem but has no real engagement with the problems.
In Ireland incompetence is rewarded, look at the votes f.g and f.f get. In the last election the people passed a vote of no confidence in Edna and f.g and who is our taoiseach and government. Enough said.
She is as useless a liar as her buddy enda. Don’t bother lying if you can’t carry it off. Better still trell the truth expose the cover ups and admit your part in it.
Bull$hit
This bull scutter is one the reasons folks your car insurance is through the roof , insurance companies looking at these Garda stats think wow let’s load big time baby
Station Sargent. Baton, check, whistle, check, notebook check, abacus check,
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