LAST UPDATE | 11 Nov

THE TRIAL OF four serving gardaí and a retired Superintendent has heard that the case centres around the terminating of road traffic tickets after requests by members of the public to gardaí to not issue fines. 

The case centres around an investigation by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) into the practice of stopping tickets for speeding, mobile phones and other offences from being issued. 

The gardaí were all based in the mid-west, particularly in Limerick garda division.

The accused are: retired Garda Superintendent Eamon O’Neill, who served across the division but was the lead officer in Newcastlewest; Limerick based Sgt Michelle Leahy; Sgt Anne-Marie Hassett, who formerly served in Limerick city; Garda Tom McGlinchey, Murroe Garda Station; and Garda Colm Geary, Clare Garda Division. All pleaded not guilty.

The five are accused with perverting the course of public justice in relation to the cancelling of fixed charge penalty notices. Sgt Leahy is accused of the offence in connection to striking out a summons while in court.

In opening the case this morning Carl Hanahoe, Senior Counsel for the state, said that the charges in the case are all associated with the alleged practice of people making contact with then Superintendent Eamon O’Neill receiving text messages to have the tickets “terminated”.

The offences associated with terminating fixed charge penalty notices took place on dates between October 2016 and September 2019.

Hanahoe explained that the offences were all for road traffic offences including speeding, mobile phone use while driving and failure to secure a load properly. 

He explained to the jury that the incidents are associated with gardaí spotting various offences or gosafe vans recording excessive speed. The allegations are that O’Neill then was contacted by people he knew with those people asking him to have the prosecution cancelled or the ticket not to be issued. 

A number of examples were given to the jury of this in practice. Hanahoe explained that a short time after motorists were stopped by gardaí O’Neill received a text message.

He then, allegedly, contacted the garda concerned and in one case the text sent to the garda, the evidence will show, had the words: “any hope?”.

The State, Hanahoe said, that it is alleged that the issue with this practice was that it perverted the course of public justice. He said it was an “interference” with justice.

“In the vast majority of cases, there was a personal connection between motorist and Eamonn O’Neill.

“That ladies and gentlemen is at the core of case… from the legal perspective – it does not matter the personal connection you have whether on training pitch, rugby pitch, work – it should not be the determinant of whether you take the points or not, it should not influence the prosecution of the offence,” he said. 

Evidence was heard from Cathal Mannion about the service of the accused in An Garda Síochána.

Superintendent Blaithín Moran who was previously in charge of cancelling penalty point tickets which were subject of an appeal by motorists gave evidence about how the process of cancelling penalty points works.

In her evidence she said that after the Fixed Charge Penalty Notice (FCPN), colloquially known as a ticket, is received by the motorists they can contact gardaí and make a case for the ticket to be cancelled. 

She said that two days a week, during her tenure of managing the system, she went to the garda office in Thurles where she examined files and cancelled FCPNs.

Under cross examination by Felix McEnroy, Senior Counsel for Eamon O’Neill, Moran was asked about an internal manual which outlines how gardaí can cancel road traffic points tickets. 

She was challenged on whether the document was law or internal garda policy. 

Moran was also asked about the use of discretion by gardaí.

Discretion is the phrase used by members when they opt not to proceed with issuing an FCPN.

She said that discretion was on a “case by case” basis and applied her own consideration when examining files. 

The trial continues before a jury of eight men and four women at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court with Mr Justice Roderick Maguire prosiding.