A former head of the Limerick Garda Division has conceded that a retired superintendent, who is charged with perverting the course of justice by interfering in road traffic prosecutions, did not have the power to cancel penalty points at the time of the alleged offences.
Carl Hanahoe SC for the prosecution put it to retired chief supt Gerry Mahon that the power to cancel penalty points was transferred to a central cancelling authority in Thurles on the direction of Garda Headquarters in 2014.
Mr Mahon agreed with the prosecution, adding, "In the policy, but not in the real world".
He was giving evidence at the trial of a retired superintendent and four serving gardaí accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice in respect of quashing road traffic summonses for motorists on dates between October 2016 and September 2019.
The five accused are former Supt Eamon O'Neill; Sergeant Anne-Marie Hassett; Sergeant Michelle Leahy, Roxboro Road Garda Station; Garda Tom McGlinchey, Murroe Garda Station; and Garda Colm Geary, Ennis Garda Station.
The jury heard that Mr O'Neill worked under the command of Mr Mahon when gardaí in Limerick were dealing with a murderous gangland feud that resulted in the death of over 20 people.
Mr Mahon praised the key role Mr O’Neill played as a detective in the city at that time.
He told the jury that Mr O’Neill’s use of discretion on one occasion resulted in a key witness to a subsequent gangland murder, providing information to the detective exclusively which led to the arrest and imprisonment of five members of a criminal gang.
"I wish to acknowledge his enormous contribution to the safety of this city and county," Mr Mahon said. "I was on the front line with him. We faced anarchy. It was toe to toe and he did not blink."
The retired chief supt told the court that he wrote a 17-page letter to the Garda Commissioner after he learned of the investigation into Mr O’Neill.
In the letter, he outlined the skills and conduct of Mr O’Neill, and "his effective record as a member of An Garda Síochána".
The court heard Mr Mahon requested a meeting with the Commissioner but was told it wouldn’t be appropriate.
Under cross examination by the prosecution, Mr Mahon was asked if he thought driving at 142km per hour on a motorway was excessive speed. He said it was a significant speed.
He agreed with Mr Hanahoe that as speed increases, the risk of a fatal collision rises exponentially.
Mr Mahon also agreed that the use of mobile phones while driving is illegal, and that seatbelts save lives.
The retired chief supt was asked by the prosecution if he had ever advised a member of the public to make a false declaration. He told the court that he had not and that he considered doing so to be a crime.
Mr Mahon was shown text messages exchanged between Mr O’Neill and others, including sports personalities, in which he allegedly attempted to square potential road traffic prosecutions.
Text messages were also shown to the retired chief supt in which it is alleged Mr O’Neill advised motorists accused of speeding offences to nominate other people as the drivers.
Mr Mahon told the court that he could not comment on the text messages as he was not in possession of the full facts.
The prosecution put it to Mr Mahon that the accused’s "relationship with a number of prominent sports people" and his alleged attempts to influence whether or not they would be prosecuted placed these people above the law.
Mr Mahon agreed with Mr Hanahoe that nobody is above the law.
The prosecution barrister said, "It is making a mockery of the equality we all enjoy before the law and it is making a mockery of the discretion lawfully exercised by An Garda Síochána".
Mr Mahon said it was a matter for the jury to interpret the evidence.
"It is a decision for the jury," he said.
The trial, which is in its eighth week, continues at Limerick Circuit Court before Judge Roderick Maguire.
