Candidate calls for drug test in the workplace

AN election candidate called last night for the introduction of random drug-testing in the workplace — including the houses of the Oireachtas.

And former Lord Mayor of Cork, Fine Gael Cllr Dara Murphy, said if he wins a seat in Cork North Central, he will be the first to undergo the test in the Dáil.

“As chairman of the first Joint Policing Committee in Cork and as Lord Mayor, I became acutely aware of the drug problems in our county,” he said.

“Following discussions with senior gardaí, I believe we need a compulsory, random, drug-testing and monitoring programme for controlled substances, which is already in place in the army and which is to be introduced soon into the Garda Siochána, to be extended to all workers on a phased basis.”

He said the aim of the programme, which would be funded by employers, was deterrence.

He suggested that 5% of workers, whose names would be picked at random, would be tested each year. The cost of the first test, which would average €50, would be borne by the employer, but subsequent tests would be at the worker’s expense. He said if the first test proved positive the worker would have the right to have a second sample tested.

Workers who failed would have the option of drug counselling, before taking a second, random test.

Workers who failed the second test would be fired.