Derek McDowell (Labour)

Senator Paddy Burke has raised an interesting issue. The Minister of State will correct me if I am wrong in saying that the current legislation provides that if somebody refuses to give a sample, the penalties mirror those which would have applied had the person been over the alcohol limit, which include disqualification. In that case one can be disqualified if one refuses to give a sample. The Minister of State, however, seems to suggest a two-tier approach whereby if one refuses on the roadside one can be fined or imprisoned, but one is then brought to the Garda station where, if one refuses again to give a sample, one can be disqualified on prosecution of that offence. This is a clumsy way of dealing with the problem. Why create separate offences of refusal on the roadside and in the station, with different penalties?