12,248 people in Ireland disqualified for drunk driving

More than 12,000 people are currently disqualified from driving due to intoxication, Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe has told the Dáil.

The Minister said that figures up to September 29th showed 12,248 people in Ireland are prohibited from driving, under legislation dating between 1961 and 2010.

But the Minister could not accept calls for the automatic suspension of a licence of a driver involved in a fatal accident, if they subsequently fail a breathalyser test.

Mr Donohoe told Independent TD John Halligan that he had to emphasise that under the Constitution it is a "matter for the Courts to make a disqualification order preventing a person from validly holding a driver's licence for a period of time".

The Minister said however that in the forthcoming Road Traffic Bill he intended to deal with the issue of drugs driving.

Mr Halligan had called on the Government to accept the proposals by Christine Donnelly from Waterford, whose son Brendan (24) died in 2009 with his friend Liam while travelling with another family to Cork airport.

A man was later sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and disqualified from driving for 15 years after admitting dangerous driving. Mr Halligan said the court heard that “he had consumed 20 beers, vodka, aftershock (alcohol shots) and had snorted a line of cocaine before the accident”.

The Waterford TD said Ms Donnelly was campaigning for “Brendan’s law” to change the current drink driving legislation so that the licence of a driver who fails a breathalyser test is set aside.

Mr Halligan insisted this would be “without prejudice once they are charged”. The campaign also calls for mandatory sentencing for drink driving for fatal accidents.

Both families were in the public gallery during question time and will meet the Minister for Transport after Dáil question time.

Mr Halligan asked the Minister: “Do you think that it’s reasonable that a driver who is involved in a fatal accident who fails a breathalyser test can resume driving until the case comes before court?”

He said many other EU countries used automatic suspension of licences in cases where a driver in a fatal collision failed a breathalyser test.

Mr Donohoe, expressing his sympathies to the family, said he acknowledged the legitimacy and commitment of the families to ensure such a tragedy did not occur again and said he would listen carefully to their proposals.