Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 146: To ask the Minister for Transport the number of motorists tested and charged with driving under the influence of drugs in each year since 2002; the level of funding and resources he is recommending for the expansion of the drug testing programme of the Medical Bureau of Road Safety; the international experience in the area of drug testing he has or is currently reviewing; if he has plans to start a nationwide initiative to tackle driving under the influence of drugs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3384/08]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The number of specimens tested for the presence of a drug or drugs by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety for the years 2002 to 2006 is as follows:

Details in respect of 2007 are not available at this time. The number of motorists charged with driving under the influence of drugs in each year since 2002 is a matter for the Garda Síochána.

The funding and resources allocated by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety (MBRS) to its various programmes is a matter for the Bureau itself.

With regard to drug testing of drivers, the Road Traffic Acts already provide that a member of the Garda Síochána may where he or she is of the opinion that a person in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle in a public place is under the influence of a drug or drugs to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of that vehicle require that person to go to a Garda station and further require that person to submit to a blood test or to provide a urine sample.

There is no feasible basis as yet in Ireland or in Europe for the introduction of a preliminary roadside test for drugs, as testing devices are still in the prototype stages. However, the MBRS is keeping abreast of developments in this area and is keeping me informed on the matter.