Key recommendations of the Garda Inspectorate report

The current fixed charge processing system

--The Department of justice immediately convene and chair a criminal justice working group consisting of the department, the courts service, the Department of Transport, the Garda Síochána and the Road Safety Authority to help implement the report’s recommendations.

Analysis and findings of the current system

--Review the summons serving process to figure out why a significant number of summonses go unserved.

--The Department of Transport should address the “legislative deficiency” which enables drivers of commercial company vehicles, hire agency vehicles and unregistered vehicles to avoid fines and penalty points.

--A single Garda Síochána unit should undertake regular audits of the full operation of the fixed charge processing system.

--The Garda Inspectorate should start a full review of the management and operation of the fixed charge processing system within a year.

Cancellation of fixed charge notices

--Garda policy on fixed charge cancellations should include a clear definition of “exceptional circumstances” when cancelling a notice.

--The fixed charge processing office must take a driver or vehicle’s previous cancellations into account when considering subsequent petitions for cancelling a fixed charge notice.

--Immediately centralise the cancellation authority for fixed charge notices in the fixed charge processing office, Thurles, Co Tipperary.

--Only consider cancelling a fixed charge notice where the petition is accompanied by factual third party evidence supporting the reason for cancellation. Where a petition is not accompanied by factual third party evidence the petition is to be denied

Proposed new system

Upon implementation, these recommendations will recoup any short term start up costs, which will be offset by the additional revenue generated to the exchequer through the increase in the collection of previously lost fines.

--Develop a bar coded pre-summons notepad for recording and serving a notice of a fixed charge offence.

--Develop a hand held electronic device that can populate and print a pre-summons for use as part of the fixed charge processing system.

Chief Inspector Olson said: “Over the years, the accumulation of successive incremental ‘fixes’ in response to minor and major technical and management problems in the system’s daily operations has resulted in a technically deficient, managerially uncoordinated, inefficient and excessively resourced support system.”