Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

While I welcome the commitment to introduce this Bill, it is a pity the part of it that is the subject of my question could not have been passed more quickly. I accept that the other issue is very important as well. Ten years ago, I proposed in this House that we should adopt the drug-driving regime that was being used in the state of Victoria in Australia. It has taken a decade for legislation to be introduced to address this issue. Surely the Minister could have fast-tracked the mutual recognition aspect of this legislation to get it passed before this House is dissolved in the new year. A number of us will not be in this House after the general election. The Minister and I might not be Members of the 32nd Dáil. The legislation to which I refer is of great importance in Border areas. How will this process actually work? When the Road Safety Authority gets the information from Northern Ireland, will it go to the District Court to seek to have someone who has been the subject of a disqualification in Northern Ireland disqualified here? I think that was the older mechanism that was used. Will it be used again under this process? I have raised some of these matters on Topical Issues on two occasions. The Minister was not able to attend those debates because he was on European business. The Minister of State, Deputy English, deputised for him. I asked two critical questions about disqualifications, but I did not receive any satisfactory answers. I would like to put those questions again briefly. First, we often hear from solicitors etc., that there is no actual requirement in law for the Courts Service to record the licence of a disqualified driver. Is that the case? If so, do we need legislation? Second, the Minister has told me we do not need legislation on the question of breathalyser results in English and Irish. Prosecutions are not proceeding as a result of the chaotic situation that exists in this regard. Can the Minister tell us what will be done about that, particularly in light of Judge Marie Keane's recent judgment? She threw out 21 cases over summonses that were wrongly worded, in her view.

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