Drink-drive limit to be lowered here ahead of change in North
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Thursday November 05 2009
TRANSPORT Minister Noel Dempsey admitted yesterday that lower drink-driving limits are likely to be introduced here before a similar move in Northern Ireland.
His admission came less than a month after the Government said that the controversial move would not happen until a lower level was introduced by Stormont.
Mr Dempsey also said that he would have preferred if drivers caught over the new limit would face harsher sanctions, including being put off the road.
The minister has already faced criticism from road safety campaigners. They accused him of caving into pressure from Fianna Fail backbenchers and of watering down the penalties for motorists caught over the limit.
He had intended introducing an automatic ban, but instead said those caught over the limit would receive three penalty points and a €200 fine for a first offence.
The Road Traffic Bill will result in a lowering of the drink-driving limit from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg.
A lower limit of 20mg would apply to professional and learner drivers, and it is estimated that 10 deaths a year and 100 serious injuries would be avoided if the bill is passed by the Dail.
Speaking after a Transport North-South Ministerial Council meeting in Dublin yesterday, Mr Dempsey said the lower limits could be introduced before new laws in the North.
"We've made the decision in relation to the levels, it has yet to be formally made in Northern Ireland," he said.
"We have talked about co-ordinating the move to the same levels and not the timing. We may not be able to coincide but we'll be as close as possible.
"I wanted to reduce the limit and I will have reduced that. I would prefer if it was six months' disqualification, but a reasonable case was made that some people may not know if they were over the limit at the beginning.
Disqualification
"Disqualification still arises for novice and professional drivers," he added.
The Medical Bureau of Road Safety, which is responsible for ensuring that breath-testing machines read alcohol levels correctly, has said there is no issue with recalibrating devices to reflect the new limit.
However, machines used to test blood and urine samples could take up to three years to be adapted.
The North's environment minister, Edwin Poots, has said new drink-driving limits could be in place in Northern Ireland early next year, but said it could take up to a year to adapt their machines.
"There seems to be a mood to reduce the limit to 50mg and 20mg for professional drivers. But considerable work needs to be done on the authenticity of the testing system, which will have to be discussed with the Home Office," he said.
Mr Dempsey also said it could take up to five years to implement a system where there would be mutual recognition of penalty points in both jurisdictions.
This would result in Northern drivers getting penalty points in the South having the points applied to their licence, and vice versa. It was a "four or five-year" project, he said.
- Paul Melia
Irish Independent
