Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

With all due respect, having delayed this issue all last year on the basis of the Attorney General's concern about constitutional issues, it is bit much that we are now being told there is no problem. The public deserves an explanation why there has been such a volte-face in this regard. Last year there were particular constitutional problems, but now there appears to be no problem. It would be nice to have an explanation how the Minister got around these problems.

Does the Minister intend to set a target in respect of the number of checkpoints that will be set up in the different Garda divisions? This should not be left to the whim of the local Garda inspector. For example, we saw from figures relating to the roadside breathalyser that two Garda divisions made no use of it. This may be because of the particular leaning of the local Garda inspector or some other reason. Last year we were told some gardaí were concerned about complaints from publicans. If the mandatory testing is to work properly, the Minister needs to set clear guidelines in respect of targets. He needs to set targets for the next six to 12 months in respect of the number of checkpoints that should be set up. Otherwise this may not have any real effect. I ask the Minister to consider sending out a directive to the Garda Síochána or else ensuring that targets for the numbers of checkpoints would be contained in the new road safety strategy. I would welcome his commitment.

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