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.

One section of the act provided that a person who tested positive at the lower end of the legal blood level scale could opt for “fixed charges”, of accepting a fine and six-month ban, or take their chances in going to court. The aim was to take the pressure off courts, and gardaí, by fewer cases going to court.

However, the minister was forced to delay introducing fixed charges because the garda IT system has not been upgraded to deal with them.

Yet, although this measure has yet to be enforced, the gardaí are carrying out about 30,000 mandatory alcohol breath tests each month.