Garda IT system must be upgraded

MORE than six months after tougher legislation was introduced for drink-driving offences, they still remain ineffective because the IT system used by the gardaí is incapable of handling them.

Despite this ludicrous situation, a spokeswoman for Transport Minister Martin Cullen attempted to deflect responsibility by saying, that even though the sanctions had not been introduced yet, judges could use their discretion to hand down harsher sentences.

The Road Traffic Act 2006 proposed to increase the disqualification periods for those convicted in court of drink driving. That increase was, variously, from three months to three years, depending on how much over the legal limit of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood a person was found to be.