Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I have raised concerns about this section on Committee and Report Stages. It is essential that we recap briefly on this because it is a fundamentally important aspect of the Bill. Section 13(1)(c) deals with a very grey area and a number of questions remain unanswered. For example, what level of alcohol or other drug will be accepted within a person's system? Will it be some or none? What categories of employees will be subject to testing? There is no indication whether only those employed in sectors where safety is critical will be affected.

The section does not deal with the term "reasonable suspicion". Earlier in this debate, I observed that gardaí testing motorists for alcohol consumption under the provisions of the Road Traffic Act 2002 must apply a requirement of reasonable suspicion. Nothing similar is required under the terms of this section. Are the tests designed to identify alcohol or drug use or alcohol or drug effect? I understand some drugs which may have been consumed very recently, perhaps even on the same day, may not show up in tests. Correspondingly, a person who has taken an illegal substance some weeks before testing may receive a positive result, as we are aware from recent incidents in the sporting world.

I cited Part 9 of the Railway Safety Bill 2001 as an indication of the type of provision my party would like to see in this Bill to offer some measure of safety to employees. Will the Minister of State insert an amendment to include a requirement regarding the term "reasonable suspicion"? The absence of such a basic provision demonstrates the flawed nature of this section.

The Minister of State referred to a commitment to introduce regulation. I accept his word that the provisions of 13(1)(c) will not be implemented until such regulations are in place. However, it is a fundamental problem that the regulations will be drawn up by the Department and Deputies will have no opportunity to amend them. An even greater difficulty is that notwithstanding the Minister of State's commitment, we must consider the possibility of a Cabinet reshuffle in the future.

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