Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 April 2005
224 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason for the delay in replacing the desperately needed Garda marked car for a location (details supplied) in County Wexford; and the action being taken to provide an immediate replacement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11297/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have been informed by the Garda authorities that the vehicle in question, a 1.6 Ford Focus marked patrol car, was crashed on 28 November 2004. Due to the damage sustained, the vehicle was written-off.
In the event of a Garda vehicle being involved in an accident, the Garda driver forwards a completed MT15 form to the fleet management section. The MT15 is a preliminary report of the accident, which notifies the fleet management section of the occurrence of the accident and the circumstances surrounding that accident. The public service vehicle inspector then assesses the damage to determine the viability of repairing or replacing the vehicle. The normal procedures that apply, should the vehicle be deemed a write-off, is that a new vehicle will be issued as soon as possible, subject to availability. If a new vehicle is not available immediately, a temporary replacement may be issued, pending the availability of new vehicles.
As an acceptable replacement vehicle was not yet available a loan car was assigned to the area on a temporary basis on 11 February. In the intervening period, between the accident and 11 February, a vehicle from an outlying station in the Gorey district was used. The loan car was subsequently replaced by a new Opel Astra marked patrol car on 7 April.
I am further informed that the Opel Astra will be replaced by a 1.6 Opel Vectra within the next two weeks, or sooner, depending on availability.
