Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

This section was the subject of much debate at various Stages in the Dáil and Seanad and a number of suggestions were made, which we have considered and which are reflected in the Bill. At all times we were conscious of the importance of taking legal advice on various aspects of the Bill; if I was not conscious of it before we started discussing the Bill, I certainly became so, because Acts such as these are the subject of the most legal action.

I am committed to the principle of mandatory testing. We tried during the earlier Stages in the Dáil and Seanad to find ways to provide for testing at collision sites where injury has been caused. We obtained advice from Office of the Attorney General at every stage of the Bill on ways to enhance the robustness of section 9. My advice is that simply by deleting the words "the member may then require the person", we can ensure that the mandatory element of section 9(1)(a)(i) and 9(1)(b) carries through to subparagraph (iii) and the discretionary element of section 9(1)(a)(ii) also carries through to subparagraph (iii).

I am happy with this amendment, which was introduced in the Seanad although the issue was raised in the House by Deputies Broughan and O'Dowd. After the passage of the Bill, when I met people from PARC, they felt we had provided what they had been seeking. As I said, we had a good debate on this during the earlier Stages in the Dáil.

See this speech in context