Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

While I understand the Deputy's point, in the scenario he has outlined the garda concerned should arrest the driver. Essentially, the Deputy wants to introduce in law a requirement that a garda arrest someone. Such a provision would be unprecedented as gardaí are always allowed to exercise some degree of judgment in deciding whether to arrest someone, even in the case of murder. In the scenario outlined, we must allow gardaí to exercise some degree of judgment. It is not practical to expect them to have medical knowledge, so they must make some judgment as to whether the person is unable to participate in a breath test because it would be prejudicial to their health, whether they need to call an ambulance and, if the person refuses to take the ambulance, then to make an arrest as necessary. We must trust the gardaí to use their judgment appropriately and not require them to arrest people, which would be unprecedented. In our discussions with gardaí, this is certainly not something they asked for. If they had, I might consider it in another way but they did not ask the Government to tie their hands and require them to arrest people in these circumstances. I do not see the benefit of that imposition unless the Garda thought it was appropriate.

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