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[Article] Gardai back on beat as motor fines go 'private'

26-04-2004 5:11pm

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Victor

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Gardai back on beat as motor fines go 'private'
From:The Irish Independent
Monday, 26th April, 2004

HUNDREDS of gardai are to go back on the beat after a decision to franchise the administration of motoring fines to a private company.

The move follows a decision to put out to tender the operation of speed cameras, which the Government hopes to complete once the Road Traffic Bill has been passed by the Dail.

Both decisions will free up several hundred gardai from office duties. More than 200 are currently involved in administering motoring fines.

The changes will come into effect later this year once the departments of Justice and Transport are satisfied that a new €20m link-up between three highly intricate computer systems involving the gardai, the Courts Service, and the new penalty points system is fully operational.

Until now software delays have caused a major upset to Transport Minister Seamus Brennan's plans for fully implementing the penalty points system and bringing on stream all planned offences.

A spokesman for the Justice Department said it was planned to have the link in operation in pilot stations by June and nationwide two months later. The new system means gardai will no longer have to manually record motoring offences, instead entering details into hand-held data processors.

Gardai providing security duty on public buildings will be returned to the beat and replaced by private security firms.

Eugene Moloney

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