People will die in drink drive fiasco
0 Comments | Daily Mirror, The; London (UK), Nov 7, 2009 | by Anonymous
IT is incredible that it will be another two years before the Transport Minister’s new drink-drive laws will be in place.
Noel Dempsey has again lived up to his reputation as the minister who always puts the cart before the horse.
First there was the backlash from his own backbenchers, which resulted in watered down drink-drive legislation.
Now it has emerged that the proposed new laws cannot be enforced for another two years – because the equipment is not up to it.
Would it not have been more prudent for the minister to have all these matters checked before even considering changing the law? Does he not have dozens of highly-qualified civil servants to do just this kind of work? The failure to harmonise the legislation with the North’s also shows the entire process had not been fully thought through.
There is no doubt that new laws to bring Ireland’s drink-drive laws into line with other EU states are urgently needed.
That is why ordinary people will fail to understand why it will be 2011 before they are introduced – or why the new laws will not get through the Oireachtas until next summer.
How come it takes nearly a year to pass legislation to save lives when legislation to save fat-cat bankers can be processed in weeks? New drink-drive laws are water purifier needed now and not in two years’ time – delay is unacceptable