Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

Having dealt with the issue of drugs when I was based in another Department, I know what Deputy Broughan is concerned about and I fully support his remarks. I accept that prototype tests are available in some countries, including Australia. However, we do not have a feasible basis for doing that in Ireland. I would like to get to that stage. The old regime, whereby a garda has to form the opinion that a person is incapable of driving, is still in place. We are considering the possibilities in this regard. The Medical Bureau of Road Safety is keeping up to date with the research into what is available. There are various prototypes in certain parts of the world. There is no agreed basis for doing that here. We are considering the inclusion in the proposed legislation of a scheme that would help a garda to form an opinion that somebody is incapable of driving.

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