The Tánaiste knows well that it is not always good for police to investigate other police. That is why we saw the establishment of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, as we had to reassure the public of independent examinations of concerns raised.

Has Mary been relegated?

Two gardaí in the State - very courageous men - came across issues of serious concern and investigated the matter further. They brought these issues of concern to Garda superiors and hit a wall, as there was no formal investigation. In exasperation and frustration, they brought those concerns to the public domain. What has happened to them since? Our economy and the State was brought close to bankruptcy because too many people did not blow the whistle and shout "stop". Transparency International Ireland last night put out a statement detailing the treatment of these whistleblowers, who are courageous men who have been isolated and put aside. One of them had to leave the force because of these allegations.

As the Tánaiste knows, Garda morale is on the floor. Some 140 Garda stations have closed in recent times and thousands of gardaí have retired and not been replaced. Hundreds of Garda vehicles have been removed. For the first time in the 35-year history of the Garda Representative Association, GRA, it did not invite the Minister for Justice and Equality to its conference. That is the environment we are in. Nevertheless, when two gardaí who love what they do and who believe in fairness, justice and consistency of the law step up to the plate and raise issues of concern, they are brushed aside, criticised and isolated.

What will the Government do to reassure the men and women listening today and over recent days who are working in the public and private sector and who are considering speaking out about concerns they have? What will it do to reassure them that they will not be treated the same way as the two Garda whistleblowers have been treated in such a shameful affair?

This issue concerns the fixed charge penalty points. When serious allegations were made last September that some gardaí had improperly cancelled fixed charge notices in respect of road traffic offences, the Minister for Justice and Equality asked the Garda Commissioner to investigate those allegations and the Garda Commissioner, in turn, had an investigation conducted which produced a report that has been published by the Minister for Justice and Equality.

It is important that we consider what we are discussing. For most people, their only contact with gardaí and enforcement of the law is likely to be regarding a road traffic offence, caught on camera speeding or doing something that breaches road traffic laws. They may have been stopped by a garda.

Driving over cyclists.

Leave the motorists out of this.

With this issue, there were approximately 1.4 million fixed charge penalty point notices issued. In some cases - less than 5% - the points were cancelled, and approximately half of those cancellations arose from technical reasons, such as the speed sign being in the wrong place, incorrect identification of a car, etc. In turn, a number of cases were cancelled because of common-sense decisions made by gardaí, such as in the case of a person being in a rush to hospital and so on. In some cases, there are questions to be answered, with Garda officers issuing fixed penalty points outside their jurisdiction or where there is no documentary evidence as to why the cancellation took place.

The Government and the Minister for Justice and Equality take those cases quite seriously, which is why the Minister made it very clear, following the publication of the report, that there can be no question of a doubt hanging over the fixed charge penalty points system. People have a right to believe that this is being administered fairly and impartially, with no kind of inside track for anybody. The Minister has made this very clear and set out seven principles to guide the administration of that system, with no question mark hanging over the integrity of the fixed charge notice system in the application of penalty points and no individual receiving preferential treatment because of a perceived status, relationship or celebrity. The law and any discretionary application of it to individuals must be administered fairly and with compassion and common sense.

No member of the Garda force should feel compelled by any person's position, relationship or celebrity status to treat that person any more or less favourably than anybody else. There must be proper oversight and transparency to the discretionary decision-making process and the applicable rules and procedures must be fully complied with. All statutory provisions, regulations, rules and protocols must be readily accessible and where an application is made to terminate a fixed-ticket charge where possible appropriate material to support any application made should be sought, while understanding that in some circumstances no material may exist or be obtainable. He has referred these new procedures to the Garda Inspectorate. The report he has published its being referred to an Oireachtas committee for its examination. Separate to this, the Comptroller and Auditor General is conducting an audit into how the system operates.