Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald has become embroiled in the Garda breath test “cover-up” as she and Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan faced calls to resign their positions in the Dáil.

Gardaí say they cannot give details as to how breath test data was inputted into the Pulse IT system, with a legal firm also stating it is unknown what level of oversight was in place higher up the chain.

As the controversy over the recording of breath tests rumbles on, the gardaí, Department of Justice, and the Medical Bureau of Road Safety (MBRS), each outlined the timeline of events:

Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan seems to have bought herself a stay of execution but confidence is not so high that the force can police itself, writes Cormac O’Keeffe.

Road safety bosses have warned there is a “real problem” with young males drinking and driving, as figures show alcohol was involved in almost four out of 10 fatal collisions.

Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan said new legislative measures aimed at combating the growing problem of drug-driving would "undoubtedly save lives".

Six coroners working on a part-time basis each earned more than €100,000 in State retainers and fees last year, new figures show.

As many as 10% of single vehicle road collisions could be suicide attempts, it has been claimed.

An expert group tasked by government with finding an alternative to multimillion-euro medical negligence cases has failed to meet for more than five years.

Legal authorities have played down fears that a recent court case, which saw a prosecution against a motorist who admitted smoking two joints of cannabis dismissed, could set a precedent for other drug drivers to evade conviction.

The rescheduled first session of the two-day Ormond Foxhounds point-to-point took place at Ballingarry in north Co Tipperary on Saturday afternoon, but it was abandoned in the interest of safety after the fourth race, the first division of the five-year-old geldings’ maiden.

THE head of the Road Safety Authority has described the potential scale of drug-driving in Ireland as “alarming” as it emerged that 1,444 motorists tested positive for drugs last year.

Almost 1,500 people tested positive for drug driving last year, it was disclosed today.

A CORONER has warned of the dangers of head shops after the first death linked directly to the use of so-called “legal highs” came before the coroner’s court.

GARDAÍ are to be given powers to help secure convictions for drug driving under a new Road Traffic Bill to be published shortly.

RURAL drivers and young motorists have warned against using harsh road safety proposals to overhaul the provisional driving system.

MANY vulnerable victims of crime throughout the country are being failed by the forensic medical service, the Irish Medical Organisation conference in Killarney has heard.

PATIENTS are still being sent home from hospital without being told they have contracted MRSA and other potentially lethal hospital bugs.

A TOP medical expert has called for a zero-tolerance approach in relation to driving and illicit drugs.

THE public can be forgiven for harbouring feelings of confusion amid the continuing controversy over the collapse of the trial of Dermot Laide for the manslaughter of Brian Murphy.

THE Government was criticised yesterday for its continuing failure to publish a blueprint for improving treatment services for victims of sexual assault.

GARDA investigations could be jeopardised by the falling number of doctors able and willing to work for the Garda Síochána, it was claimed yesterday.

THE country is facing a “looming crisis” due to a lack of forensic doctors available to do vital garda work, medical experts warned yesterday.

ALMOST 4,000 motorists arrested for drink driving last year escaped conviction, figures released by the Court Service have revealed.

THERE has been an alarming rise in the number of drivers who have tested positive for driving under the influence of cocaine in the past two years.

OTHER Irish people may have used a controversial Swiss “right to die” group to commit suicide, the group’s leader revealed yesterday as he confirmed that a disabled Irishman ended his life in Switzerland last November.

ROAD traffic legislation is not realising its full potential to save lives and reduce serious injury, according to expert analysis.

THE Government is to target extra garda resources towards the battle against growing numbers of deaths on Irish roads.

More convictions are needed to combat the alarming rise in motorists driving under the influence of drugs, Transport Minister Seamus Brennan said today.

A REPORT from Britain will influence if nurses here are trained to carry out forensic examinations on sexual assault victims.

The Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner will have to treat very seriously the warning by forensic medicine doctors, that crucial evidence in criminal cases will be missed unless the system is changed.

CRUCIAL evidence in criminal prosecutions could be missed because Ireland does not have an adequate forensic medical examination service, an expert has warned.

A CORONER was forced to send four families away from an inquest without details of their loved ones’' deaths because of delays of over six months in getting test results from the State Laboratory.

GARDAÍ have not yet ruled out the possibility of criminal charges in their investigation into the deaths of two patients at Naas General Hospital.

INVESTIGATORS have removed items from the home of a nurse at the centre of allegations of overdosing patients at Naas General Hospital.

DRIVERS under the influence of drugs are to be targeted through an expanded testing system and new “drug symptom recognition” courses for gardaí.

THE nurse at the centre of an investigation into two suspicious deaths at Naas General Hospital is “distressed and upset” at allegations that she may have acted unprofessionally.

GARDAÍ are to be given extra powers to carry out drink-driving tests on motorists who speed as part of a new road safety strategy by the Government.

IRELAND has some of the most stringent rules in the world in relation to taking, examining and storing forensic samples from suspects.

Motorists suspected of drink-driving are being automatically tested for traces of illegal drugs under a new Gardai crackdown.