Penalty point appeals must be removed from An Garda Síochána and be decided upon by district judges instead.
This is the view of Galway Labour senator Lorraine Higgins, who raised the raised the issue in the Seanad on Wednesday following publication of the Garda Inspectorate Report’s publication yesterday.
She said individuals should not be able to appeal their points to the Garda Superintendent or an inspector as the Gardai “should not be making judgements about appeals on their own decisions”, a situation described as “nonsensical”.
Sen Higgins is calling for a debate on this issue, and is proposing that penalty points appeals be heard by district court judges assigned by the Justice Minister for that function.
“This would help restore not only the public'’ confidence on penalty point appeals but also members of an Garda Síochána themselves,” she said. “The reality is the Gardai have been asked to exercise a quasi-judicial function which is unfair to them.”
