Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I hope that my amendment No. 6 will cater for Senator Paddy Burke's amendment. I have further considered bringing forward amendments to section 5 in light of Senators' comments on Committee Stage. The intention of the Bill in respect of the fixed charge and disqualification process is that where a person is found to have exceeded 100 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, or the equivalent levels in urine or breath specimens, he or she will be prosecuted either for that offence or, if he or she has not been convicted of a drink-driving offence within the previous five years, he or she will be served with a fixed disqualification notice.

The Senator proposes an amendment to section 5(7)(c) to provide that if a person who is not eligible to be served with a fixed charge notice happened to be served with a notice, that person would continue to be liable for prosecution in the same manner as if a notice had not been served. It is intended that this would be the case and an express provision could bring greater clarity to the section.

The Parliamentary Counsel advises me that an appropriate amendment could be inserted to section 5 at subsection (7)(f) which would address the concerns of the Senators. I propose to introduce amendment No. 6 which would ensure that a person who is not eligible to pay a fixed charge will at all times face the immediate prospect of summons for the substantive drink-driving offence. Amendment No. 6 caters for the intention of amendment No. 5.