Daly awaits drink-driving test result

Independent TD Clare Daly said she took a hot whiskey to beat a cold before being pulled in by a Garda patrol car on Monday night on suspicion of drink-driving.

As she awaits the results of a urine test to establish whether she was over the legal alcohol limit, the Dublin North TD denied charges of hypocrisy, having raised concerns in the Dáil recently over how gardaí dealt with driving offences.

Garda sources confirmed that Ms Daly was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving shortly after 12am yesterday.

Ms Daly was not stopped at a check point but a patrol car made a “routine stop” of her vehicle on the South Circular Rd, South Dublin.

She was taken to Kilmainham Garda Station, where she gave a urine sample. The results will be known in the next seven to 10 days.

Ms Daly said last night that she had been driving in an area she was not familiar with. “I took an illegal turn. I was pulled in by the gardaí on foot of that,” said Ms Daly.

“I had been with family and had been given a hot whiskey for a cold. If that brought me over the limit, well then that is obviously a very serious mistake on my part and one that I take full responsibility for.”

She told RTÉ News she was “a bit surprised that garda authorities released this information without any charges being brought, or any confirmation of me being over the limit”.

In December, Ms Daly, along with independent TDs Mick Wallace, Joan Collins, and Luke Flanagan, backed down from their threat to publish the names of thousands of people who allegedly had points removed from licences.

Instead, the TDs published 20 examples of cancelled penalty points. Among the allegations in the dossier were that a superintendent terminated two tickets for the wives of two gardaí caught speeding in other counties, and the points for an ex-superintendent.

The TDs also claimed that one garda inspector allegedly cancelled up to 1,000 fixed notices for drivers.

Asked if people would now look at her as a hypocrite, Ms Daly said the same rules apply in her own case: “The point we were making in that situation is that people who violate road safety legislation should be treated in a transparent way and be exposed to the full rigour of the law, not secret deals done behind the scenes,” she said.

“And that’s something that should absolutely happen in my case if I’m found guilty of any offence, the same as it would for any other citizen. I am fully responsible for my actions and will take any consequences that are necessary should anything come about.”