Call for breath testing referendum on election day
A referendum on random breath testing could be held on the same day as the forthcoming general election, it was claimed today.
The Government has been warned by the Attorney General that the introduction of the road safety measure could be open to legal challenges because it may be unconstitutional.
But the Oireachtas Enterprise & Small Business Committee today called for a referendum on the issue for legal clarity and in order to cut the number of deaths on Irish roads.
Committee chairman Donie Cassidy said: “It is up to the Government to accept or reject what we are proposing today. The referendum may be held on the same day as an election at a suitable date in the future.
“Let the people of Ireland decide if they want breath testing or not.”
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern reiterated last weekend that the Government will go full term and that a general election will be held in May 2007.
The committee’s third interim report on reform of the Irish insurance industry today said it believes a referendum is required to clarify the law.
It is currently illegal for gardai to stop motorists at random and breath test them.
They can ask a motorist to take a test only after they have formed an opinion that he or she is driving under the influence of alcohol.
The National Safety Council said the measure could have saved up to 150 lives a year because 30% of blood and urine samples taken from drivers after fatal accidents contained excess alcohol.
Today’s Oireachtas report, which was based on hearings held between April and November, also said a driver theory test should form part of the studies of transitional year students.
An inter-ministerial group comprising the Taoiseach and the ministers for health, transport, justice, education and finance should also be set up to oversee road safety.
It insisted that insurance premiums could only be significantly reduced by fewer road fatalities, a capping of personal injury awards and competition in the insurance market.
It also called for more speed cameras and premium discounts for drivers who allow in-car devices to monitor their speed.
Earlier, Mothers Against Drink Driving (Madd) spokesperson Gertie Shields insisted that the right to life must override any other citizen’s right under the Constitution.
Ms Shields, whose 19-year-old daughter Paula was killed by a drunk trucker in north Co Dublin in 1983, said more people will die if the Government waits for definitive legal advice on the issue from the Attorney General instead of holding a referendum.
“No driver has the right to take the life of somebody into their hands when they sit behind the wheel in a drunken state,” she said.
“We need random breath testing to take these people off the roads in the first place. Otherwise you will have clever lawyers exploiting loopholes in the law and getting their clients off.”
National Safety Council acting head Alan Richardson said a referendum on breath testing would be the best way to ensure that legislation can be passed without future challenges.
“This would put the Road Safety Strategy back on track again and would deliver a significant life-saving measure,” he added.
Mr Richardson said that some lawyers believe that random testing could be regarded as repugnant to the Constitution as it may be an infringement of one’s bodily integrity.
The measure may also be challenged on proportionality if it can be proven that one person or a small number of people were purposefully chosen rather than selected at random.
But Mr Richardson told RTE that gardai had increased drink-driving enforcement in 2005 and 15% more motorists were arrested on suspicion of the offence.
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