A report into roads policing has found that a number of gardaí are "unproductive" and appear to be demotivated and unconcerned with doing an effective, professional job.
The Crowe Report, an independent review of the roads policing unit (RPU) to assess its effectiveness and integrity, was published this morning.
As part of the review, investigators visited six garda divisions.
The report showed that some gardaí appear to "get away with such behaviour", to the "frustration of their colleagues, supervisor and managers".
It said that there is a "lack of effective sanctions" for poor performance, and supervisors and managers were typically apprehensive that "any attempt to invoke sanctions would create industrial relations problems" with the Garda Representative Association.
"We found no evidence of a systematic, organised culture of work avoidance or deliberately poor performance within roads policing, and no evidence of bullying or dominance of RPU members by their colleagues," it added.
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However, it said, the absence of effective supervision and management creates the "circumstances in which such a culture has been able to take root".
Some gardaí 'eagerly' looking forward to retirement - report
The report said a handful of members did the bare minimum, or less, to fulfill their duty.
Supervisors told investigators that some individuals left the station at the start of the shift and returned at the end without a single detection made or fixed charge notice issued.
It said that some RPU members working alone were alleged to "routinely park the patrol car out of sight and deliberately avoid doing any productive work for part or all of their shift".
A number of gardaí were also reported "eagerly" looking forward to retirement.
Some were so disinterested in their job and the fact that their Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) equipment was switched off or not functioning properly.
One patrol car driver appeared to deliberately switch the direction of the forward-facing ANPR camera so that its field of vision was obscured by the rear-view mirror.
Majority of RPU members 'productive, professional' - report
The review was launched after a garda whistleblower informed garda headquarters that a substantial number of gardaí tasked with policing the roads were not doing their jobs.
Conducted by the consultancy firm Crowe Horwath, the report has highlighted significant concerns in relation to performance and accountability at An Garda Síochána.
The review also found that there were wide variations in the productivity between divisional RPUs.
It also said that a majority of RPU members were 'productive, professional, and focused on improving road safety'".
The report said that at the heart of the problem of poor productivity and behaviour amongst some RPU members appears to be the interpretation of the An Garda Síochána Performance, Accountability and Learning Framework (PALF).
PALF is a competency-based performance management system implemented for all members and aims to support career development and ensure accountability within the organisation.
The report said this interpretation of PALF policy is widely understood to prevent garda supervisors and managers from proactively managing and evaluating the performance of individual RPU members.
"In effect, this is significantly frustrating the right of management to manage," the report said.
Job vacancies and lack of investment and training were concerns raised in the report.
The Crowe Report found that job vacancies in the RPU is one of the reasons for lack of productivity as the overall strength is 40% less than the number in post 2009.
"In particular vacancies at supervisor ranks mean that there is a reduced level of supervision and management of RPUs" it said.
It also citied problems with lack of investment in vehicles and equipment with many road policing vehicles operating with high mileages which are 'unsuited to modern Roads Policing'.
"Members in all RPUs, including supervisors and managers, reported considerable frustration at RPU members being tasked to perform other non-urgent duties unrelated to Roads Policing, meaning that at certain times a division might have no RPU patrols operating," the review said.
The report also said that some members were unable to access driver training to enable them to drive Roads Policing vehicles, and that there were limited opportunities for RPU members to acquire specialist knowledge and updates in technical fields such as standards and regulations for commercial vehicles.
Much of the work, the report said, appears to be centered around the operation of checkpoints.
The review questioned whether the balance between operating checkpoints and undertaking other, more proactive Roads Policing work needs to be reconsidered.
"One side-effect of the central focus on checkpoints is that most RPUs appear to schedule the majority of checkpoints relatively close to the policing base" it said.
"If an RPU patrol is scheduled to operate three or four checkpoints each shift, that will generally leave little time for driving to more geographically remote parts of the division.
"In those locations, enforcement of traffic laws if left to 'regular' garda units lacking in specialist knowledge or expertise," the report said.
The Crowe report also found 'little evidence' of patrols receiving intelligence-led briefings that focused on wider crime-related issues on the roads.
An anonymous letter received at the Commissioners Officers in June 2023, expressed concerns about the RPU.
In September that year, gardaí decided on an independent external review and terms of reference were drafted.
The site visits by the investigating team took place between July and November last year, to examine and understand how work is assigned supervised, delivered and reported.
It included ridealongs with on duty RPU members.
The Crowe Report recommended that An Garda Síochána's focus should be on correcting the resources, operational procedures, technology, training, supervision and accountability problems, rather than conducting further examination into the scale and nature of the problems.
It called for an immediate review of the PALF policy and its replacement with a more appropriate policy to enable gardai to engage the performance of its staff.
"Reporting an governance structures for Roads Policing should also be considered," it added.
A garda team should examine the issues contained the Crowe Report and should produce a detailed transformation plan for Roads Policing within eight weeks.
A project board to oversee this work should be established, according to the review and that the issues should be resolved within 18 to 24 months.
At a press conference this morning, Assistant Commissioner Roads Policing and Community Engagement Paula Hilman said a steering group under deputy commissioner policing operations has been established to oversee the necessary changes according to the gardaí.
A working group under the assistant commissioner, roads policing and community engagement has been established to implement the findings.
The Crowe team engaged with between 100 and 120 garda members.
The six divisions selected were not identified in the report.
A completed report was received at the Commissioner's Office in March 2025.
Report makes for 'stark reading' - Harris
The Garda Commissioner has said that the force must now all work collectively to rebuild trust and continue the work done by a majority of gardaí to save lives.
Drew Harris, who finishes up in his role in two weeks, said the report makes for "stark reading" and he was "disappointed" by the findings.
He said measures have been taken to enhance roads policing with investment in equipment and a new fleet.
However, Commissioner Harris said "it is clear from the report that collectively we need to do more".
Meanwhile, the Minister for Justice has said that the Crowe report is of extreme concern to him.
Jim O'Callaghan said that he spoke to Commissioner Harris when he received the report.
"I spoke to him again yesterday in respect of it, I know that a steering group has been put in place by the gardaí to ensure that the faults identified in the Crowe report are responded to adequately," he said.
"We must have effective and efficient road policing as that's a very important method by which we put down road deaths."
In relation to the performance accountability and learning framework, Mr O'Callaghan said he knows that "that's something that's going to be addressed by the commissioner".
"Every member of an Garda Síochána takes an oath and they're required to do the job that is assigned to them," the minister said.
"The vast majority of them do that. But what the Crowe report has indicated is that there's a small number that aren't doing that, that needs to be rectified."
