The chairperson of the Policing and Community Safety Authority has described as "shocking" a report which shows that a substantial number of gardaí assigned to Roads Policing are not doing their jobs and have no interest in doing them.
The Garda Commissioner has promised to publish the Crowe Report which also shows that gardaí who were not carrying out their duties did not care that they were being monitored, and that their managers were not dealing with the problem.
Drew Harris called their actions "brazen and contemptuous" and the report's conclusions "sobering".
The disturbing details in the report emerged on the day that the gardaí launched another of its road safety campaigns.
An independent review of roads policing was launched after a garda whistleblower informed garda headquarters that a substantial number of the gardaí tasked with policing the roads were not doing their jobs.
The chairperson of the policing and community safety authority also pointed out that garda managers and supervisors in charge of those gardaí, were either unable, unwilling or afraid to do anything about it
Policing and Community Safety Authority chairperson Elaine Byrne described the report as shocking and said there are members within roads policing who seem very much disinterested in their job.
The report also showed that not only were these gardaí not conducting speed checks or tests for drink and drug driving, they also did not care that they were being monitored and that their failure to do their job had been identified by the independent investigators.
Ms Byrne also said she was not only concerned about the blatant disregard some members have, when they knew they were being reviewed by this but also about the absence of performance management.
"They were in the cars with people, and they were openly hostile to doing their job," she said.
"And I think once that report is published, you'll see that, but also perhaps another thing that we were shocked about is that there seem to be a deference or a fear of some management, of not actually doing performance management, and just a fear of actually being managers within guards, within Roads Policing."
Commissioner Harris called the actions of the gardaí "brazen" and "contemptuous" and said a working group had been established to implement its recommendations.
He also said it was not just a matter of moving people on because the issues identified were "systemic".
Road safety group calls for report to be published as soon as possible
Susan Gray from the PARC Road Safety group said the group is very upset to hear that some gardaí assigned to roads policing are not doing their jobs.
Ms Gray said it was "very upsetting to hear that there are certain gardaí assigned to roads policing but not dedicated to doing their job".
Watch: Reports of roads gardaí not dedicated to job 'appalling'
She described it as "appalling" adding that the group would like to see the report published as soon as possible.
"We need to see how bad the problem is, how many gardaí are we talking about and where they are stationed," Ms Gray said.
She said families need to have confidence that roads policing units are doing their jobs properly.
"It's alarming to learn that they don't seem to be monitored," she added.
