While I cannot comment on specific court cases, I would be happy to clarify the general position.
Section 12 of the Road Traffic Act 2010 provides for the taking of specimens of breath, blood or urine following an arrest under Part 2 of that Act, which deals with intoxicated driving. Section 13 of the Act sets out procedures to be followed after the taking of a specimen of breath under section 12.
Section 13(2) requires that, in cases where testing of a breath specimen has indicated an alcohol concentration higher than the legal limit, the apparatus should print '2 identical statements' of the result in a prescribed form. The form itself was subsequently prescribed by SI 541 of 2011.
So that there is no misunderstanding I should clarify that, as the section makes clear, one of the 2 identical statements is to be signed by the individual and retained by An Garda Síochána, while the other is retained by the individual. In this way, both the Guards and the individual retain identical records of the test results. It is not the case that reports are provided in both English and Irish and it would not be appropriate to delete the section.
I am satisfied following consultation with the Gardaí that there is no requirement to change the Road Traffic Act 2010 to make amendments of the kind suggested by the Deputy.
