Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

An article in today's edition of The Irish Timesregarding drink driving convictions states that in some parts of the country the conviction rate is below 20% and in others the average conviction rate is higher than 68%. This raises very serious questions about how summonses are prosecuted, including whether there is a defect in the manner in which they are presented by the Garda, whether there is a defect in how they are being dealt with by the courts or whether we have an extremely efficient and hardworking legal profession in some parts of the country and not in others. There are serious questions that need to be asked about this matter. It is appropriate that the matter be debated in this House. I acknowledge that there are some changes proposed in this area but there are questions around this issue that need to be answered quickly.

I have defended cases successfully in the District Court because that is my job. However, it must be borne in mind that in many road traffic accidents a person may have lost a mother, father, son or daughter because the driver of one car was over the legal alcohol limit. We must address this matter in the fastest possible way to ensure appropriate penalties are imposed on persons caught driving while over the legal alcohol limit. As we approach Christmas, the current message is that the risk is worth taking.That is the one concern I currently have. We are now approaching that time of the year when people need to be more careful and should not be taking risks. While I have no objection to people having a drink, I have a problem with people drinking and driving. It is something we need to be conscious of. We should have a debate and the Minister for Justice and Equality should give some explanation for the wide variation in convictions across the country.