Right of gardaí to enter driveway of house challenged

The right of gardaí to enter onto the driveway of a private house in pursuance of an investigation was challenged in a court case in Cork yesterday.

The challenge was made during the appeal of a conviction for drink driving for which the motorist was fined €450 and disqualified from driving for three years.

Defence barrister Donal O’Sullivan argued, at Cork Circuit Appeals Court, that the appeal should be allowed because the investigating garda went onto the drive of the defendant. He argued that the gardaí had a legal right to go onto a private property — but only in circumstances where they were about to make an arrest or had a search warrant.