asked the Minister for Justice if he will state in regard to the use of breathanalysers, the number of such kits utilised in the last five years; the number of occasions on which the breathanalyser was used as evidence in court cases; and the number of occasions on which the seal on the breathanalyser had been broken or interfered with between the time the breathanalyser was used and its admissibility as evidence in court.
Written Answers. - Breathanalyser Use.
992.
The question seems to be based on a misapprehension. Neither the alcolyser (commonly known as the breathalyser) nor the results obtained from its use are produced as evidence in court. The relevant procedures for prosecutions in drinking-and driving cases based on blood/alcohol concentration above the prescribed limit are set out in the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act, 1978. Statistics of the various types of drinking-and-driving offences and of breath tests carried out by the Garda Síochána are contained in the annual crime reports of the Garda Commissioner, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library.
No issue arises of broken seals on alcolysers. If the question is intended to relate to the number of cases in which the seal was broken on bottles containing samples of blood or urine received by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety from the Garda, the figures are: 1978 (from commencement of the current Act in July 1978), 36; 1979, 68; 1980, 61; 1981, 43.