Shatter criticises ‘minority’ of PAC for prejudging points issue

Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has criticised some of the members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for prejudging the penalty points issue.

Yesterday the Minister called for an investigation into the debacle by the commission and also said he will ask the Government to give new powers to the ombudsman to investigate complaints made to it by individual gardaí.

This morning he said he could not have referred the penalty points affair to the Garda Ombudsman Commission sooner because it would have been an "abuse of the legislation".

The Minister said what had “changed is that we now have the gardai involved in a political controversy which is completely undesirable”.

Mr Shatter was critical of a “minority” of committee members who were making comments “outside the realms of that committee” and were effectively prejudging the issue, he told RTE’s Morning Ireland.

Mr Shatter added he had no doubt the Garda Ombudsman will receive full co-operation from the Garda Commissioner.

The PAC will discuss the continuation of its contentious inquiry into the penalty points affair at a meeting today.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin also expressed concern at members of the PAC providing opinions and assessments on ongoing investigations to the media.

Mr Howlin said such behaviour was “a disquieting thing for people to look at” and that he believed his move to bring a referendum on giving the Oireachtas additional powers of inquiry was rejected by the electorate in 2011 because of fears matters would become politicised.

“The people didn’t accept my recommendation on that and I think part of the fears that arose during that debate was that people would politicise the process,” he said.

“I think we have to prove to the people that we can conduct inquiries as an Oireachtas in a fair and impartial way and that we don’t parse and analyse and give our personal opinions on evidence on daily basis.”

Asked about his Cabinet colleague Mr Shatter requesting that the Garda Ombudsman Commission look into the penalty points issue, Mr Howlin replied that the commission was “the right place for it”.

Mr Howlin said he “strongly” welcomed Mr Shatter’s intervention “to ensure that the Ombudsman Commission, which has the capacity and the authority to have a full investigation, will carry out this work now”.

“I don’t know what people want. I hope they’ll get the truth and that’s all that really matters,” he told reporters at Government Buildings ahead of this morning’s Cabinet meeting.

PAC chairman John McGuinness last night said the committee will take account of the Minister’s intervention at a scheduled meeting this afternoon.

“Part of that consideration will entail taking legal advice on the continuation of the committee’s examination of the Comptroller & Auditor General’s report on the management of the fixed charge notice system.”

The Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan has welcomed the intervention, as has one of the whistleblowers Sgt Maurice McCabe.

Whistleblower Sgt McCabe told the committee last night he wanted to give evidence in private on Thursday and he plans to discuss this with Garda management today.

It is understood that Sgt McCabe’s legal advice is that the garda is permitted to give evidence to the committee.