Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Dr. Bedford is very welcome. I thank him for his opening statement. There is no doubt that he is very well qualified to do this role. He has wealth of experience. I thank him for his efforts in our struggles against Covid and for coming out of retirement and taking up that role. Where are the offices of the Medical Bureau of Road Safety situated? How many people work there? How many tests does it deal with per week or per month? What is the turnaround time for testing? There seems to be an increasing prevalence of drugs within society. Would it be fair to say there is an increasing detection of drugs among people driving? What is the percentage breakdown between alcohol and drugs? Is that percentage increasing?

When did the five-year strategic plan and objectives come into being? When will that be reviewed? Does that plan follow international best practice? Has the bureau looked at other jurisdictions throughout the world including the UK and European countries? Does it follow a particular model that is already in place?