Gardaí who disregard roads policing ‘letting colleagues down'
The Fine Gael leader was responding to comments by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, about a report that found some gardaí showed a 'blatant disregard' for roads policing duties while they knew their actions were being reviewed.
Advertisement
It comes amid a focus on road safety in Ireland, with the Government introducing new speed laws and after the Garda Commissioner mandated that frontline gardaí dedicate 30 minutes of road policing duties per shift.
Simon Harris said he did not want to 'tar any one group with one brush', and said he has the utmost respect for gardaí.
'Indeed, it's not that long since we were at a funeral of a member of An Garda Siochana killed while on road traffic policing duties,' he said at Government Buildings.
'Having said that, I am concerned with what I've heard, and I'd like to be in a position to read it. So I think it's important that what the commissioner said he intends to do does happen, that he publishes the report so that we can actually see this and analyse it directly.
Advertisement
'Because any member of An Garda Síochána who is acting in the way that the commissioner outlined is seriously letting their colleagues down in the first instance, colleagues who work every day to keep us safe and would absolutely be undermining our road safety efforts in this country.
'There are far too many empty seats at far too many kitchen tables in Ireland. We've worked extremely hard as a country, I don't just mean as a government, as a country, to improve road safety over many years.
'That progress had stalled in recent years and indeed we'd seen a negative trend, and this is disappointing and concerning.
'But I think it's important that we have the opportunity to see the report, rather than to comment on a comment about the report.'
Advertisement
Asked if he was surprised that a member of government had not seen the report, considering the policing authority had seen the report in June, he said: 'I am somewhat, but I haven't had an opportunity to discuss this with colleagues in government yet, and I'd obviously like to discuss it in the first instance with the Minister of Justice.'
Sean Canney, a junior minister with responsibility for road safety, said the reported findings were 'shocking' and 'serious'.
'There's no point in us bringing in laws, reducing speed limits, doing all of this kind of thing, if we don't have a functional enforcement section within the gardaí,' he said on RTÉ Radio.
Mr Canney said his thoughts were with the families of the 95 people who had died on Irish roads so far this year.
Advertisement
He said he had not read the report from consultancy firm Crowe, which has carried out investigations on behalf of An Garda Síochána previously, but planned to meet Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan and both the outgoing and incoming Garda commissioners.
'I'll be talking to the commissioners to express my deep concern with what is in this report,' he said.
He said the independent Crowe report was conducted while the reviewer was 'sitting in the car with a garda that wasn't doing his duty and didn't seem to have a problem with that'.
'So I think there is definitely a serious case to be answered here as quickly as possible.'
Advertisement
Mr Harris said he commissioned the examination after he received an anonymous report from a whistleblower.
The chairwoman of the Policing and Community Safety Authority, Elaine Byrne, said the report was 'shocking' and found some gardaí showed a 'blatant disregard' for road policing while they knew their actions were being reviewed.
'They were openly hostile to doing their job,' she said, in what she described as a 'wake-up call' for An Garda Síochána.
She also described an issue with fear among Garda managers of carrying out poor performance management, which she said Mr Harris agreed was an issue.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
24 minutes ago
- The Guardian
It's not just about building houses – communities need infrastructure to grow
There is a very real danger that, in its bid to reform the planning system and build 1.5m homes across England at pace, the government will neglect the basic requirements of livable communities ('No shops, no schools': homes in England built without basic amenities, 27 July). As your article makes clear, already 'thousands of homes across England are being built without urgently needed community infrastructure'. The planning system cannot allow such fundamental aspects of quality, sustainable placemaking to be neglected. It would do well to recognise the solution offered by a landscape-led approach to development. Landscape is everywhere – not just in protected countryside, but in every high street and cul-de-sac. It is the setting in which we all live, study, work and play. By thinking landscape first and engaging landscape architects early, planners and developers can design-in essential community infrastructure from the outset, creating resilient places that deliver what people need. So, let's build quality as well as quantity by prioritising GöhlerPresident, Landscape Institute One of the problems with the way we build homes in England is that local people have no role beyond complaining and objecting. In one case in your article, the community offered to finish off and run a community centre if the developer would just build the shell. But the idea that communities could roll up their sleeves and build, own, run these things just isn't considered by our housing and planning systems. The developer considered and rejected the idea; the community had no say. In a small but growing number of places this opposite is happening. Communities are gaining a seat at the table in the design and build-out of new homes, and taking ownership of shops, playgrounds, open space, community centres and affordable homes. Developers have to work with, and negotiate with, local people over what is built. This little bit of leverage and agency, achieved through a community land trust, builds better places with a stronger sense of community. The Labour government has talked a lot about supporting communities. The prime minister recently spoke of people tired of being excluded from decisions about their own lives. Here's your chance, Sir Keir, to include them in decisions about housing by wiring community agency and ownership into the planning ChanceChief executive, Community Land Trust Network
Reuters
26 minutes ago
- Reuters
Switzerland could revise offer on Trump tariffs, business minister says
ZURICH, Aug 3 (Reuters) - The Swiss government is open to revising its offer to the United States in response to planned heavy tariffs, Business Minister Guy Parmelin said, as experts warned the 39% import duties announced by President Donald Trump could trigger a recession in Switzerland. Switzerland was left stunned on Friday after Trump hit the country with one of the highest tariffs in his global trade reset, with industry associations warning of tens of thousands of jobs being put at risk. The country's cabinet will hold a special meeting on Monday to discuss its next steps, with Parmelin telling broadcaster RTS that the government would move quickly before the U.S. tariffs are imposed on August 7. "We need to fully understand what happened, why the U.S. president made this decision. Once we have that on the table, we can decide how to proceed," Parmelin said. "The timeline is tight, it may be hard to achieve something by the 7th, but we'll do everything we can to show goodwill and revise our offer," he added. Parmelin said Trump was focused on the U.S. trade deficit with Switzerland, which stood at 38.5 billion Swiss francs ($48 billion) last year, with Switzerland buying U.S liquefied natural gas (LNG) among the options under consideration. Another option could be further investments by Swiss companies in the United States, Switzerland's biggest export market for its pharmaceuticals, watches and machinery. "Look at the European Union, they promised to buy LNG. Switzerland imports LNG too — maybe that's one path," Parmelin said. "Maybe more investments. But to be sure it's a strong enough basis for continuing talks, we have to fully understand what the U.S. expects." Both Parmelin and Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter were also ready to travel to Washington to pursue talks if necessary, he added. Swiss officials rejected reports that the higher than expected tariffs were imposed after a bad-tempered telephone call between Keller-Sutter and Trump late on Thursday. "The call was not a success, there was not a good outcome for Switzerland," a government source told Reuters. "But there was not a quarrel. Trump made it clear from the very beginning that he had a completely different point of view, that 10% tariffs were not enough. "We are working hard to find a solution and are in contact with the American side," the source added. "We hope we can find a solution before August 7." Tariffs would have a huge impact on Switzerland's export-orientated economy and raised the risk of a recession, said Hans Gersbach, an economist at ETH, a university in Zurich. Swiss economic output would be reduced by 0.3% to 0.6% if the 39% tariff was imposed, a figure which could rise to above 0.7% if pharmaceuticals - which are currently not covered by the U.S. import duties - were included. Prolonged disruptions could shrink Swiss GDP by more 1%, Gersbach said. "There would be a risk of a recession," Gersbach said. Swiss shares are expected to be hit by the tariffs news when the stock market reopens on Monday after being closed during the Swiss National Day holiday on Friday. The tariffs could also see the Swiss National Bank cut interest rates in September, said Nomura. "We expect one more 25bp policy rate cut from the SNB in September, which would take the rate to -0.25%," the bank said. "A hit to growth from U.S. tariffs on exports would likely weaken economic growth and cause further deflation pressures, adding to the likelihood of easing to a negative policy rate."
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
I was on FaceTime call with my best friend when she was killed in a horror car crash – her screams will haunt me forever
A YOUNG woman who was on FaceTime with her best pal when she was killed in a car crash says she'll be haunted by the memory forever. Ebony Neville heard tragic work colleague Stephanie Nye-Diroyan suddenly scream as the video call cut out. 9 9 9 The 21-year-old then began frantically trying to call her friend back before getting into her own car and driving along the same route, eventually coming across the crash site. Stephanie, 21, was a passenger in a BMW being driven by another work colleague, Ivan Zaliac, 24, when they ploughed into a lorry at nearly 100mph on Mollison Avenue, in Enfield North London. Ebony told The Sun: "Seconds before the phone cut out you could hear the engine revving and Stephanie's scream - then it froze on her face." She added: 'I tried to ring her back - I don't know what I was thinking had happened. 'I then got in my car and I didn't know where to go, I knew that they were in Brimsdown, in that local area, but I had no idea where.' Zaliac - who walked free from court last month after being deemed unfit to stand trial - had been giving Stephanie a lift on October 23 2022 after they finished work at nearby second hand car dealership Big Motoring World. Ebony was ill that day and Stephanie had agreed to stop off to see her on her way home when she died. The crash happened at 7.54pm. 'It was literally a quick call,' explained Ebony. 'She worked that day - it was a Sunday - and I wasn't in. 'It was a quick catch up, really. A catch up with a friend, that's all. She was such a good friend, she'd been non-stop checking in throughout the day - but couldn't ring me until she finished work. 'We were on the phone and then it froze on Stephanie's face, and the call cut out.' Three pedestrians injured by falling rubble as van crashes through multi-storey car park wall in UK city centre She added: 'I then rang her personal phone. I also rang Ivan's phone, both were disconnected and were being put through to voicemail.' Ebony said she waited 20 minutes and was 'still ringing during this time… just to try and find out what had happened'. She rang the police and found out there'd been a 'bad crash' in Brimsdown so 'drove around'. 'It wasn't too far from my house, it was about an 11-minute drive,' Ebony said. 'The road was blocked off. I hadn't been told who was involved in the crash or what had happened. 'I wasn't allowed to know any information.' She was then directed to The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel in the East End, where Stephanie had been taken. Holding back tears, Ebony said: 'I did everything I could that day and I wouldn't change anything. I went to the hospital… I wasn't allowed to know anything without Stephanie's mother knowing first.' 9 9 A screen shot she captured of Stephanie during the call, a few minutes before the crash, was shown in court. Ebony took to the stand to give evidence. She said: 'I was quite upset and ran out of the room immediately afterwards, and put myself together before returning.' Zailac suffers from amnesia and doesn't remember the details of what happened after suffering a brain injury in the collision and subsequent psychiatric issues. He had been ruled unfit to stand trial so the jury had to formally decide whether he did the act alleged, namely causing Stephanie's death by dangerous driving. The jury then found he did carry out the act. Judge Sarah Munro, KC, said Zailac will be supervised by a nominated social worker and the Hillingdon mental health team for two years. 'This is the only way your mental health can be restored in order for a decision to be made as to whether there are further legal consequences for you to face,' the judge said. Prosecutor Frederick Hookway told the court that the Crown intends to put Zailac on trial if he recovers. 'The objective of this order is for the improvement of the defendant's mental health not only for his own sake but for the future of these proceedings,' he said. 'The crown do intend to reinstitute these proceedings when and if appropriate.' Stephanie's mum Nicholle Diroyan sobbed as she read her victim impact statement at the Old Bailey on July 7. She said: 'The pain of losing her is immeasurable and every day without her feels incomplete.' Ebony, who now lives in Manchester, has launched a petition to try and ensure Stephanie's family get justice. 'There's been three years of constant delays and adjournments - and now we're told it'll be 2027 before we know if Ivan can even stand trial. 'It's the waiting. We're left in the dark.'. 'I feel so sorry for Stephanie's mum Nicholle - who's always at the court but then left frustrated each time.' Ebony added: 'We were told the jury returned a verdict in a record time. Quickest for death by dangerous driving for 27 years. 'Despite this clear outcome, family and friends are waiting for justice.' Referring to the two-year order, she said: 'It's a deterrent of the law, rather than an enforcement.' She added: 'That grievance, when everything is brought back up. I'm quite shaky on this call, it's traumatic to relive the tragic crash and death of Stephanie.' Ebony went on to say: 'Stephanie was the most lovely, genuine, outgoing person. She was there for her friends, she was there for her family. 'If anyone needed her, she'd message, she'd ring, she'd be there for you. To see her face in the newspaper in such a tragic way, and yet we're still yet to receive any justice, is so heartbreaking.' Stephanie had hired Ebony several months before, and was her manager before being promoted to the finance department shortly prior to her death. 'We became friends so quickly,' she said. 'The week before she died we were in Manchester and Nottingham, just enjoying ourselves. 'I was always going round to hers and picking her up or going for lunch break. 'Sometimes we'd get a takeaway into work and would be sitting there with 10 different Greggs items. She was amazing.' Ebony added: 'We believe she's looking down on us so proud of us all.' Do you know more? Email 9 9
