Irish drink-driving under the EU average

Only 0.69 per cent of motorists stopped and checked on one day in Ireland were over the drink-drive limit, according to a new survey.

The figure is well below most European nations that took part in the latest police campaign to counter drink-driving and well below the average of 1.6 per cent.

The one-day campaign was the seventh coordinated police enforcement operation organised by Tispol, the European Police Traffic Network run by the Department of Environment and the European Commission.

The findings will be welcome news to the authorities who have stepped up their campaign in recent months with the introduction of new testing procedures.

Slovenia recorded 6.5 per cent of positive alcohol tests on drivers; at the other end of the scale Finland chalked up only 0.19 per cent of tested motorists found to be over the legal limit.

But the number of motorists stopped in each country varied enormously: 7,653 were tested at 726 control points set up around the UK, compared with 314 stopped in Italy and nearly 49,000 drivers in Holland.

In all, more than 161,000 motorists were stopped, and more than 2,600 tested positive - 1.6 per cent.

Percentage of drivers in each country failing drink-driving tests during the one-day campaign:

Slovenia- 6.6%

Greece- 6.02%

UK- 3.5%

Italy- 2.55%

Belgium- 2.53%

Holland- 1.4%

Switzerland - 1.07%

Spain- 0.73%

Ireland- 0.69%

Germany- 0.34%

Finland- 0.19%

Norway- 0.17%

(Average- 1.6%)

Additional reporting by PA