Irish Examiner view: Drink-driving and drug-driving have to stop
Garda Superintendent Liam Geraghty said there had been over 200 drink- and drug-driving arrests in the seven days since last week’s road safety conference in Kerry. Stock picture
The statistics about drink- and drug-driving arrests released this week should give us all pause.
Garda Superintendent Liam Geraghty said there had been over 200 arrests for such offences in the seven days since last week’s road safety conference in Kerry. That is not to mention over 5,000 people who were detected speeding in the same time period.
As he rightly pointed out, this is particularly disappointing because of the volume of discussion about safety on our roads, adding that “six people have died on our roads since we last started talking about this” at the conference last week.
We had another glimpse of the scale of this problem yesterday when Cormac O’Keeffe reported on the publication of a European study examining the presence of drug byproducts in wastewater systems.
The study found a 40% increase in detections of ketamine in Irish wastewater systems, which indicates a sharp rise in use of the drug.
If more people are using illegal drugs — and a 40% rise suggests a huge increase in use — then we can surely expect that increase in drug use to manifest itself in different areas of Irish life, and driving offences are an obvious example.
The relative normalisation of drug-taking in social situations makes it even more challenging to ensure safe driving conditions for all. If people see no stigma attached to taking these substances, then they will hardly be self-conscious about driving while under the influence.
Can we find more effective and active deterrents for drivers? They may have to include stiffer punishments for those found guilty of such offences, providing more resources to police our roads, or installing in-car breathalyser-type systems.
There is obviously room for raising awareness of the consequences of drink- and drug-driving but, on the available evidence, publicity campaigns do not seem to be changing driver behaviour significantly.
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The Office of the Garda Ombudsman, Fiosrú, has set up a specialist unit to handle complaints of domestic and sexual abuse by gardaí.
As reported here by Ann Murphy, Fiosrú stated that a “specialist services unit” had been established to investigate incidents, including public complaints, where a garda is accused of domestic violence, coercive control, abuse of power for sexual purposes, child sexual abuse, or sexual assault. It will also look into public complaints alleging gardaí have failed to properly investigate incidents of this kind.
This is a welcome development, particularly in light of the case of Garda Trevor Bolger, who was given a three-month suspended sentence last January for a 'protracted and vicious' assault on his wife — who was then a garda also — in 2012.
His is not the only such case before the courts in recent years: Mark Doyle, a former garda who severely beat and verbally abused his wife and her two children over a 12-year period, was jailed for six years in March 2024.
William Ryan was convicted on three charges of sexual assault and one of falsely imprisoning a woman at Aughrim Garda Station; he was eventually sentenced to six years in jail.
This is a deeply concerning series of crimes. While Fiosrú is to be commended on taking this step, obvious questions must also be asked: What kind of culture exists in an organisation if a special unit must be established to deal with such matters, and how can that culture be changed?
The damage done to the reputation of the gardaí by cases such as those mentioned above is twofold.
Not only does it expose how some people are not suited to a role which gives them power over others, it reduces confidence in our justice system — particularly among citizens enduring domestic violence, coercive control, or sexual assault.
An Garda Síochána, not Fiosrú, must show that there is no place for those who commit such crimes whether they are gardaí or not.
It is one of the busiest roads in the country and links two of the biggest cities, yet local councillors believe it is also one of the worst-maintained.
As reported here this week by Sean O’Riordan, Cork county councillors have been signalling their deep frustration with the state of the county’s roads. The N20, the main artery which connects Cork and Limerick, is a particular issue.
Councillors have pointed out that Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has not responded to calls to improve safety at several different junctions along a stretch of the N20 from Rathduff, north of Cork City, to Charleville on the Limerick border.
The quality of the road surface is also worsening.
Fianna Fáil councillor Pat Hayes said: “I drove recently from Mallow, and I was veering left and right all the way to Cork to avoid the potholes. The surface is genuinely unsafe at the moment.”
Elsewhere in the county, the story is no better.
Aontú councillor Peter O’Donoghue described parts of the N72 as an “absolute disgrace”, adding that TII had allocated just €2.6m for repairs for that road when the council said it would need €10m to get the job done properly.
Road surfaces must be maintained to ensure driver safety.
It is not glamorous work — there are neither photo calls nor press releases involved — but it is necessary and should be undertaken urgently.
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