Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 November 2005
74 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Transport his proposals in co-operation with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to tackle the increasing problem of drug driving; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36001/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Road Traffic Act 1994 provides that a member of the Garda Síochána may, where he or she is of the opinion that a person in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle in a public place is under the influence of a drug or drugs to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of that vehicle, require that person to go to a Garda station and further require that person submit to a blood test or to provide a urine sample which will then be subject to analysis by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety.
Moreover, the Medical Bureau of Road Safety continues to analyse blood and urine specimens received under the Road Traffic Acts for the presence of a drug or drugs where the level of alcohol determined is under the legal limit of 80 mg/100 ml in blood and 107 mg/100 ml in urine or when a specific request for drug analysis has been received from gardaí when the alcohol result is above the legal limit. The number of blood and urine samples analysed to the end of September 2005 was 527, which is 32% higher than the same period to September 2004.
In September 2004 the director of the Medical Bureau of Road Safety and head of forensic medicine at University College Dublin commenced teaching a post graduate course in the Higher Diploma in Forensic Medicine at the university's faculty of medicine. This course includes teaching on drugs, alcohol and driving including drug recognition. The first cohort of graduates has completed the course and will graduate formally in December 2005.
Preliminary discussions have also been held in 2005 between the Garda national traffic bureau, the Medical Bureau of Road Safety and the department of forensic medicine at UCD with a view to the training of gardaí in the recognition of driving under the influence of drugs.
