Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

According to my calculations, in a total of 3,003 fixed penalty notices over five years, the average figure is lower than the 650 fixed penalty notices issued in 2012 which, coincidentally, was the safest year on our roads and where we also had the highest number of drink driving arrests. Using the number of arrests and the number of fixed penalty notices decisions made by motorists is not the best basis for the argument. The year 2015, like 2012, was equally the safest year on our roads since records began, accepting that every life lost is one too many. A total of 501 fixed penalty notices were issued in 2015, which is quite a contrast to 2012, when we had the same fatality figures but a lower rate of arrests. That illustrates the point I am making. Basing the requirement for this change in legislation on an increase in the number of fixed penalty notices may not be sound given that we had far safer years on roads with much higher numbers of fixed penalty notices.

Moving on to my third question, of the fixed penalty notices issued to drivers found to be in the 50 mg to 80 mg range, how many of those were detected a second time after a three year period?