Ms Moyagh Murdock:

As I stated earlier, we can only deal in the facts and we have presented them as transparently as possible and as transparently as the Data Protection Commissioner will permit us to present them. These numbers are very small. I can tell the Deputy categorically that 25 drivers caused the deaths of 35 people at those low levels. What I understand is that if the Deputy saw the names and files, he would support this Bill. Is that what he is saying? I will seek to see if I can provide more clarity on the personal data of those individuals. As the chief executive of the Road Safety Authority, the Deputy can take it that from the research and extensive examination of the contributory causes, those drivers were deemed to be culpable. We have files that are not included in those numbers that include pedestrians who fell on the road or were sleeping on the road. They are not included in these numbers. A significant number of pedestrians were killed in alcohol-related deaths at the much higher level of 200 mg per 100 ml of blood. The numbers are very small and it would be completely irregular and inappropriate to give out information in a level of detail that could lead to those people being identified. I can say the numbers categorically to the Deputy and I will seek to see if there is a way we can show him the information. It is probably not permissible. The only reason we got to do this was by keeping the identities of people private. We have recognised researchers and we have done this to best practice. We have protocols in place to permit us to do the research in the first place and we stuck to that protocol. The people in these cases were deemed culpable and not the pedestrian.

With regard to the matter of van and jeep drivers, I will correct the Deputy. They are subject to a commercial vehicle roadworthiness test but it is C and D class drivers who are professional drivers; they are the specified drivers at levels of 20 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood. I can drive a jeep but I am not a specified driver. What applies in this respect is the classification of one's licence, and whether one has a C or D licence. They apply to vehicles that are 3.5 tonnes and heavier. We should clarify that it is not an attack on rural Ireland but about making all roads safer for all users. A jeep may be subject to a commercial vehicle test, the licence determines whether one is a specified driver. A learner driver or a professional driver is a specified driver. A driver is non-specified if he or she has passed the test with two years of subsequent experience, as long as that driver does not have a C or D class licence.