Vol. 558 No. 5
324 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of persons charged with drunken driving on a weekly basis from 1 January to 1 December, inclusive, arising from the use of the indexiliser system; when these cases will be heard; and his views on the negative impact it is having on the road safety campaign. [25077/02]
I assume that the Deputy is referring to the evidential breath testing instrument. I have been informed by the Garda authorities that where a person is arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, being drunk in charge, refusing or failing to provide a preliminary breath specimen, dangerous driving, unauthorised taking of MPV, or in connection with an alleged hit and run collision resulting in personal injury, and a member of An Garda Síochána is of the opinion that the person has consumed an intoxicant, a member of the force may at a Garda station, at his/her discretion, do either or both of the following: require the person to provide two breath specimens using an EBT instrument or require the person to permit a designated doctor to take a specimen of blood or provide a specimen of urine.
I am further informed that a weekly breakdown of the numbers of persons charged is not available. Provisional figures indicate that from 1 January to 27 October as many as 9,155 arrests were made under the above provisions and the person required to provide a breath, blood or urine specimen. I am also informed that statistics are not yet available to indicate how many of those arrested were dealt with using an EBT instrument.
The scheduling of cases for hearing is a matter for the courts. The Garda authorities do not see the use of EBT as having a negative impact on the road safety campaign. I agree that, on the contrary, the availability of such instruments is an important tool in combating drinking and driving.
