Gerry Adams: Garda Commissioner 'should go' after investigation reveals further 500,000 false breath tests
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has said the latest findings into the investigation of falsely recorded breath tests are "astonishing."
Speaking on Morning Ireland, Mr Adams has said there is an issue of incompetence and that the Garda Commissioner, Nóirín O'Sullivan "should go."
Mr Adams said the public have lost confidence in the force and that people have become tired of listening to the failures of the force.
He said the biggest problem is that no one is being held accountable for the situation.
"There is a lack of accountability, if you go into Dunnes Stores and steal, you're held accountable," he said.
"The Taoiseach should act in this case and the Commissioner should go."
An investigation into the false recording of almost a million breath tests on An Garda Síochána computer systems has discovered a further 500,000 false tests were recorded but not carried out.
According to RTÉ, a report which has yet to be published by the Assistant Garda Commissioner, Michael O'Sullivan, found that members of the force were making up the figures and in some cases, the figures were exaggerated by as much as 300%.
The Assistant Commissioner's report concludes that the controversy surrounding the false breath tests reflects poorly on the organisation and has undermined the public's confidence in the service.
RTÉ have said a separate report into how almost 15,000 motorists were wrongly convicted over fixed charge penalty fines has also identified failures and points out Gardaí had a lack of understanding of how the system operated.
Both reports have been sent to the Minister for Justice, who is expected to issue a statement regarding the reports while briefing the Cabinet this morning.
An independent investigation commissioned by the Policing Authority to review the garda reports is due to be completed later this month.
Gardaí were under the impression that between 2011 and 2016, over 933,000 false breath tests had been recorded on the force's Pulse system but the Assistant Commissioner has established that the figure is over 1.4 million, dating back to 2009.
The report identified systems failures, failures of governance, a lack of supervision and a misinterpretation of policy.
No Garda is expected to face criminal charges as a result of these reports but disciplinary proceedings have in some cases already been initiated.
