Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I ask the Minister for an assurance that the legislation does not contain legal loopholes which astute lawyers may exploit. Drink driving cases have frequently been thrown out by courts on technicalities. I appreciate that the Minister will not know definitively whether this is the case until the legislation is tested and can only do as much as he can on the basis of the legal advice made available to him. This is a key area, however, and people are increasingly taking a zero tolerance approach to drink driving offences. Daniel O'Connell once famously declared with regard to legislation going through the British Parliament that one could drive a coach and four through it. While I am not suggesting that is the case in respect of this Bill, there is no doubt lawyers will pore over this legislation because their clients will seek to avoid a drink driving conviction. I raise this question in light of the likelihood and experience to date. Particular sections of almost every Road Traffic Act have been challenged in the courts. In some cases a judge has effectively thrown out cases and one then finds that several dozen other people are affected by the judgment because the initial case was a test case. I raise the issue purely in that context.