Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)

I support Deputy Shortall's amendment. It is a good one. There was a slogan some years ago, "Just two will do", which was unfortunate as people would then get the idea that, provided they were below the limit, they could still drive. That is correct. The difficulty is that people do not improve with alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant on the central nervous system. A person who is completely drunk can be seen to have completely lost his or her marbles. A drunk would go around like somebody who has some type of brain lesion. Certain brain lesions can mimic the effects of alcohol. Cerebellar control comes from higher centres, so the higher centres are depressed. The result is that a person who is drunk demonstrates the effects of somebody with a brain lesion or brain damage. If a person drinks for long enough the effects will be permanent. Psychoses can result from excess chronic alcohol usage. Unfortunately, this can lead people to end their days in a psychiatric hospital.

It is well known that the more alcohol taken, the more depressed the central nervous system will be. It also affects the higher centres of the brain in the cerebrum. A person drinking a number of pints of beer, for example, will be more affected than a person who has drunk just one or two pints. The difficulty is that the amount taken leads to a proportionate increase in disability. Somebody who is completely drunk is totally disabled and not fit to walk, let alone drive a car. The effect of 50 milligrams per 100 millilitres blood alcohol is different from the effect of 80 milligrams per 100 millilitres blood alcohol. It is proportionate, and there is an effect at the lower level.

Other countries in the EU have introduced the lower level because they feel it is not safe for a person to drive above this level, but the penny has not dropped with us. Although we are good Europeans in various ways, the message has not been brought home to us. It is time for the stipulation to be that no alcohol is acceptable for a person who is driving. That will not happen until the limit is reduced to as low as possible. People above the 50 milligram per 100 millilitres blood alcohol limit should not drive. I support the amendment.

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