I am advised by the Garda authorities that, in the event of a Garda vehicle being involved in an accident, the Garda driver will complete an MT15 form and forward this to the fleet management section in Garda Headquarters immediately. This is a preliminary report of the accident which notifies the fleet management section of the occurrence of an accident and the circumstances surrounding it. A public service vehicle inspector will then assess the damage to determine the viability of repairing or replacing the vehicle. Should the vehicle be deemed repairable, three competitive tenders must be obtained before final approval for the repair to be carried out will be given. The decision to repair or replace the vehicle will normally rest with the technical inspector attached to the fleet management section.
If the accident is comparatively minor and the vehicle repair can be completed in a short space of time, then local management may be able to cope using their existing resources. Where this is not possible, every effort is made to provide a temporary replacement vehicle from the fleet management section while the repair is being carried out. For minor repairs the time frame for having the car returned to service will normally take no longer than two to three weeks. In most instances, for minor accidents, this time will be considerably less.