Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

If one is not prepared on the roadside to take the test one breaks the law and is brought to the Garda station where the gardaí may request that one give a blood or urine sample. Refusing to give the sample is an offence and one can be brought to court and may lose one's licence.

If Senator Paddy Burke, or any other Senator, is stopped and asked to submit to a mandatory alcohol test, when he knows there is no alcohol in his system, he may still be taken to the Garda station and asked to provide the necessary sample. If the alcohol level does not exceed the prescribed limit one cannot be disqualified but can suffer the penalty of a fine or imprisonment. There is a belt and braces here, namely, that if one refuses to give a sample it does not mean that one can simply roll up the window and drive on. One can be taken to the nearest Garda station and tested in the traditional way.

Lest there be any misconception, the mandatory alcohol test is not alone sufficient to prosecute, even when the gardaí stop a driver and show that he or she has exceeded the limit. One must be brought to the Garda station and given the full evidential test. That is the evidence the gardaí will present if the case comes before the court.