Five Gardaí attempted to quash road traffic offences for motorists, trial told

David Raleigh

A trial of four gardaí and a retired superintendent centres around motorists allegedly asking gardaí to intervene in potential or pending road traffic prosecutions, the accused’s trial heard on Tuesday.

The five accused were allegedly involved in attempts to quash potential or pending road traffic prosecutions against motorists in the mid-west region, it is alleged.

The five accused have pleaded not guilty to a total of 39 offences of attempting to pervert the course of justice, before a jury of eight men and four women at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.

They are retired Superintendent Eamon O’Neill; serving Sergeants Michelle Leahy and Anne-Marie Hassett; Garda Tom McGlinchey, and Garda Colm Geary, all within Limerick and Clare Garda Divisions.

Outlining the prosecution’s case, prosecuting barrister, senior counsel Carl Hanahoe, told the jury the five accused all enjoy the “presumption of innocence” and that the prosecution bore the burden of trying to prove beyond a reasonable doubt its case against the five accused.

Mr Hanahoe said the road traffic laws or rules of the road were designed as a deterrent “to keep each of us safe on the roads”.

He said it was not unusual for motorists to “have picked up a mobile phone while driving, or been distracted and driven 55km/h or 60km/h in a 50 zone, but we take the points, we don't like it, but that is the system and we take it”.

Mr Hanahoe said the procedure that follows is for a motorist who receives a Fixed Charge Penalty Notice (FCPN) in the post, notifying them that they are liable for a fine and penalty points on their driving licence.

The court heard there were three options available to motorists who receive a FCPN: pay the fine and take penalty points; appeal it to a “Cancelling Authority”; or contest the matter in court.

Mr Hanahoe said the prosecution’s case centres on the seizure and analysis of Eamon O’Neill's phone, which was retired in November 2020, and the subsequent seizure and analysis of the mobile phones of the four other accused.

Mr Hanahoe referenced a number of charges against Mr O’Neill in which motorists who were allegedly detected committing road traffic offences, including speeding, holding a mobile phone while driving, driving without insurance, or not wearing a seatbelt, then allegedly contacted Mr O’Neill, who in turn allegedly contacted the other accused in an attempt to terminate the motorists' potential or pending FCPNs.

In one of the charges, it’s alleged that Mr O’Neill advised one of the motorists to nominate another person as being the driver of their vehicle involved in the suspected road traffic offence to avoid receiving penalty points.

Mr Hanahoe alleged: “What all of the offences have in common, the prosecution says, is the interference or involvement of Eamon O’Neill.”

The prosecuting barrister said the other four accused became involved in allegedly attempting to “interfere in the course of justice” through Mr O’Neill’s alleged involvement.

Mr Hanahoe further alleged that the “vast majority” of the alleged attempts to pervert the course of justice involved a “personal connection between the motorist and Superintendent O’Neill”.

“It ought not to matter what connection you have - that should not determine whether or not you take the penalty points or influence the prosecution of the offence,” Mr Hanahoe said.

“That is what the prosecution’s case is all about,” Mr Hanahoe said.

Superintendent Blaithin Moran, Garda Roads Policing Bureau, Phoenix Park, Dublin, told the court she held a role within the force which entitled her to legitimately cancel FCPNs after considering motorists’ appeals.

Superintendent Moran said she would travel to the FCPN Cancelling Authority, Thurles, Co Tipperary, every two weeks to physically examine the FCPNs and determine the outcome of the appeals process.

Superintendent Moran said FCPNs could be cancelled in exceptional circumstances, including if the driver provided proof of being exempt from wearing a seatbelt while driving due to a medical condition, for example.

Supt Moran said she wouldn't personally adjudicate on FCPN appeal requests if she knew the motorist involved, as she felt this would be a “conflict of interest”.

She said motorists would sometimes contact the Cancelling Authority, attempting to nominate a relative as the driver of the car in question in order to avoid receiving a FCPN.

Under cross-examination, Superintendent Moran agreed with Felix McEnroy, senior counsel or Eamon O’Neill, that she held a discretionary role when adjudicating the outcome of FCPNs when she attended at the Cancelling Authority within An Garda Síochána, Thurles, twice a week.

Supt Moran said all members of An Garda Síochána were able to employ their own discretion when dealing with members of the public.

“Discretion is on a case-by-case basis. We are a community police force,” Supt Moran said.

The trial, before Judge Roderick Maguire, is expected to last for at least six weeks.