Ireland

Garda bogus breath test scandal could be worse than previously thought

A senior Garda officer previously revealed that 6.4 million breath tests were inaccurately recorded
A senior Garda officer previously revealed that 6.4 million breath tests were inaccurately recorded A senior Garda officer previously revealed that 6.4 million breath tests were inaccurately recorded

Fianna Fáil justice spokesman Jim O'Callaghan has called for beefed-up oversight powers for the Policing Authority amid reports that the bogus breath test scandal is worse than previously thought.

It is believed another 400,000 false breathalyser records were put on the force's database on top of the near 1.5 million identified in an internal audit.

One senior officer previously revealed that 6.4 million breath tests were inaccurately recorded at one stage but it was not deliberate falsification and was corrected overnight.

The report for the Policing Authority by accountancy and business consultancy firm Crowe Horwath is expected to criticise the way the controversy was initially handled by senior management but also to raise concerns about the culture in the force.

It points to implicit demands on officers for bigger and better breath test numbers rather than an explicit direction from management.

Garda chiefs have been asked to launch further investigations into 2,134 drink and drug-driving checkpoints and associated data which contributed to the massive over-exaggeration from 2009 to 2016 which recorded 3,498,400 breath test records on the Pulse system when only 2,040,179 were carried out.

Mr O'Callaghan said the problems in the Garda could be greater than envisaged and it is crucial new oversight powers are created.

"Full public confidence in the processes and procedures around Garda oversight is a critical component of effective policing in Ireland," he said.

"Unfortunately, the poor performance of senior management in An Garda Síochána remains at the fore of these repeated controversies."

Mr O'Callaghan said the public should get a more detailed account of the scale of the falsification of breath test data when the Policing Authority is called before the Oireachtas Justice Committee.