Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We should aspire to stop crime from happening in the first place. The same is true of GPS and speed limiters. We have seen a serious reduction in the number of accidents involving HGVs since the introduction of the limiters. From a road safety perspective, there is no need to have a car that can travel 180 km per hour if it not an emergency vehicle. From a law enforcement point of view, one of the problems faced by gardaí is that they simply cannot catch up with high-powered vehicles that can reach 200 km per hour on a motorway. It is something we need to look at. It would be a positive move.

In regard to the changes in the blood alcohol level and the ramifications of being caught, in terms of bringing the public with us, the case has not been made strongly enough on the reasoning for the reduction of blood alcohol levels from 80 mg per 100 ml to 50 mg per 100 ml. I pressed the Minister, asking him for the evidence in support of this reduction. It is important that there would be stronger evidence produced. I ask Ms Murdock to revert to the committee with specific examples where alcohol is a factor.

I was looking at 1,000 incidents and in 670 cases, no alcohol was involved. Of the 330 cases where alcohol was involved, 100 cases were below the legal limit of 50 mg per 100 ml. One can say that any level of alcohol impairs driving and therefore it is a contributory factor. Of the 230 cases, how many people were in the category of 50 mg to 80 mg per 100 ml blood alcohol level category? How can one tell whether alcohol was a contributory factor in these accidents versus the 670 people in accidents who had no alcohol in their system? That is the type of information I am looking for. It would help inform debate on the matter. I ask Ms Murdock to come back to us with as much information as she can.