A Fine Gael councillor tabled a motion to Limerick County Council for the Government to review the position of GoSafe vans at the same time as he requested a garda superintendent to "sort" a speeding ticket for him, a jury has heard.
An exchange of text messages between Cllr Liam Galvin and then supt Eamon O'Neill was shown to the jury at the trial of Mr O'Neill and four gardaí who are accused of perverting the course of justice by interfering in road traffic prosecutions.
The councillor, from Ballaugh, Abbeyfeale, sent a picture of a fixed charge penalty notice to Mr O'Neill with an accompanying text message which read: "Can you sort that for me?"
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The fixed charge penalty notice related to an alleged offence of speeding at 142km per hour in a 120km zone on the M20 near Patrickswell, Co Limerick, in November 2017.
Mr O'Neill replied: "Am trying my friend". He asked the councillor how many penalty points he had.
Mr Galvin replied: "Not sure but lots".
A summons was subsequently issued to Cllr Galvin who sent a picture of it to Mr O’Neill in July 2018.
The superintendent replied: "Have I ever let you down kid".
The jury was also shown an image of a Limerick County Council motion by the councillor moving for a review of the positions of GoSafe vans in Co Limerick.
The court heard the image was sent by Cllr Galvin to Mr O'Neill with the caption 'Ha ha ha’.
The councillor is not one of the five people on trial accused of wrongdoing, and was not arrested as part of the investigation.
Mr O'Neill, Sergeant Anne Marie Hassett, Sergeant Michelle Leahy, Garda Tom McGlinchey and Garda Colm Geary have pleaded not guilty to a total of 39 offences of engaging in conduct tending and intended to pervert the course of justice on dates between October 2016 and September 2019.
Senior crime analyst with An Garda Síochána, Laura Galligan, gave evidence of examining WhatsApp messages on Mr O’Neill’s phone, which was seized at his home on the day of his arrest in May 2019 as part of an investigation by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
The trial, which is in its fifth week, continues before a jury of eight men and four women at Limerick Circuit Court.
