The Policing Authority has strongly criticised gardaí of all ranks following the publication of its report into false breath tests and wrongful convictions.
The report highlights issues with management, training accountability and supervision and points to a lack of organisational curiosity and urgency to understand why these problems occurred.
It also found there could be another 400,000 falsified breath tests, but the precise extent of the problem will probably never be known.
The report says an examination of the more than 500,000 phonecalls recorded at the Garda Information Centre in Castlebar would be unnecessary and a waste of resources, unless there is firm evidence of either a criminal offence or a disciplinary breach.
It lists the various factors it says led to the recording of false breath tests.
These include:
- The input of false data by gardaí unable to perform the required number of checkpoints,
- The belief among gardaí that it was important to record good or improving performance,
- Policing plan targets,
- Inadequate supervision,
- The reduction in supervisors,
- Uncertainty and a lack of precision in recording,
- A sense across the organisation that precision was not important,
- Data entry errors,
- Lack of training and issues with the Drager breath test devices.
The report also says a key finding is that these factors were compounded by a culture within the force that did not recognise the importance of accurate recording.
This culture it said enabled unethical behaviour by gardaí who falsified checkpoint data.
Ultimately the report found there were no effective governance processes in the force to verify the numbers of checkpoints and by extension the numbers of breath tests.
It says top garda management are responsible for endemic behaviour that seems to have gone unnoticed and unchecked for nearly a decade.
It criticises senior garda ranks for not reacting to information in management reports and Divisional officers for failing to adequately investigate their own divisions when asked to do so by the former Garda Commissioner.
In relation to the wrongful convictions, the report said these were caused by a series of interlinked deficiencies including highly complex traffic legislation, inadequate training for gardaí, the lack of suitable technology at the roadside to aid in prosecutions and a loophole in the PULSE system.
The report says that it is very surprising the problem was not identified earlier either by gardaí, the Courts Service or lawyers, given the discrepancies took place over ten years.
It also warns there are major underlying deficits in the PULSE system, which need to be addressed urgently to ensure that similar problems of equal magnitude cannot arise in the future.
The report is concerned that other changes to road traffic legislation could potentially result in similar problems arising in the future.
All of the other factors which allowed this to happen, bar the changes to the PULSE software, are still present and need to be tackled urgently.
The Chairperson of the Policing Authority, Josephine Feehily, has called on the Acting Garda Commissioner to "reflect" on the report and tell the authority at its public meeting later this month what how he plans to do about its findings and recommendations.
The Minister for Justice has said the report outlines an unacceptable catalogue of deficiencies, and unacceptable and very bad behaviour on behalf of An Garda Siochana.
Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime, Charlie Flanagan said he is pleased that the gardaí have accepted the report's recommendations and it is important that "a litany of gross deficiency" is never repeated again.
Mr Flanagan said the implementation of the recommendations of the report will be critically important.
He said adherence to the code of garda ethics will have to be a fundamental part of policing.
The minister said: "I very much agree that what we are dealing with here is an unacceptable catalogue of deficiencies, even stronger than that, we are dealing with unacceptable and very bad behaviour on the part of gardai right throughout the Garda Siochana.
"I believe, it's absolutely essential to adhere fully and comply fully with the Garda code of ethics."
Mr Flanagan said the Policing Authority is currently "scoping" the best possible candidate for Garda Commissioner.
