Results 20,341-20,360 of 26,157 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: We will probably do a body of work on road safety. The bureau will be very much central to that, so Senator Buttimer's proposal is valid. The report is a wealth of knowledge. When will the bureau have its statistics for 2021?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: The bureau should be publishing preliminary figures because they need to be in the public domain. I know the witness has said they are no different from 2020. The figures at this stage are more than 12 months old, but statistics should be informing policy and in the public domain. They could be subject to adjustment following the Comptroller and Auditor General compiling the report. It is...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: It is something on which we can follow up. I am on the joint policing committee in Limerick city and county, and Chief Superintendent Gerard Roche and his staff come before us. The number of drug-related testing of drivers is increasing relative to tests for alcohol. We are told one in seven roadside drug tests prove positive, whereas one in 30 prove positive in alcohol testing. When...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: Are they living in a fool's paradise in that it will be in the system much longer than it would be with alcohol?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: How long?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: And cocaine?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: Why does Dr. Bedford say that?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: I specifically want to talk about drink and drug-driving. With regard to cannabis, cocaine and alcohol, which stays in the system longest? There are a lot of myths out there.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: And cocaine?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: Is Dr. Bedford in any way alarmed by the increase in drug-driving testing by the Garda on the roads?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: That is the key. In Dr. Bedford's view and given the trends we are seeing for 2020 and 2021, it does not surprise him.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: Evidential breath tests have gone down significantly as a proportion of the overall tests from 40% to 24%, that is, from 5,372 to 3,278 in a year. Why is that?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: When the tests come to the bureau, how quickly are they turned around?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: Why?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: Is that all done in-house?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: Does Dr. Bedford believe the bureau has adequate resources?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: While everything is relative, does Dr. Bedford regard alcohol or drugs like cannabis and cocaine as the more dangerous in terms of driving?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: In terms of the impact it has on the driver themselves and their capacity to drive.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Medical Bureau of Road Safety: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)
Kieran O'Donnell: I take the point. To go back to Dr. Bedford's thoughts on cannabis, there is a view in many quarters that cannabis has uses for medicinal purposes. Has Dr. Bedford a contrary view on cannabis?