Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

When I made inquiries recently about the causes of accidents and what investigations are done, I was horrified to discover that depending on the type of accident and whether a criminal prosecution was likely, a certain line of investigation took place, but if there was no criminal prosecution, even in a case where there was a fatality, a different type of investigation took place.

There does not seem to be any clarity about the causes of accidents. A newspaper has reported today that many accidents may be caused by the use of cocaine and other drugs; that may well be the case. Criminal prosecutions do not result from accidents in many cases if toxicology tests are not done — I refer in particular to fatal accidents.

Given that this country's road death figures have exceeded any kind of acceptable level, we need firm information when we are drawing up policy. Everybody can suggest solutions to this problem, but we need to ascertain exactly what causes accidents. Is legislation needed to allow drug testing to take place at roadsides? I appreciate that it can be easier to breathalyse someone than to test someone for drugs. Does the Minister believe that drug testing at roadsides is necessary?

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