Random breath tests - Lives saved thanks to legislation

Paul Stevenson, president of the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI), had called for the introduction of legislation to provide a compensation package for the rural pubs for loss of business since the introduction of random breath testing in July.

He indicated that the VFI would be demanding government action on the lines of compensation packages provided for farmers and fishermen. Publicans had a powerful and effective lobby for many years, but they have not helped their cause by the manner in which they resisted the smoking ban in the workplace, or their carping attitude towards random breath testing. They have little sympathy, because both initiatives have turned out to be particularly popular with the public.

The total number of people killed on our roads by this time last year was 366, but that figure was down to 345 yesterday. There is little doubt that the improvement is largely due to the introduction of random breath testing.