Political pressure hits new drink-drive policy

There's confusion over what is a plan or merely an idea regarding the new drink drive limits.

EYEBROWS WERE raised around Leinster House when the Department of Transport published a report on new drink drive limits from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) at the end of April. Prompting the surprise was not the fact that the report recommended lowering the current limit of 80mg to 50mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood - this was widely expected - but rather the mixed messages that emanated from the Government on the report.

In a statement accompanying the report, the Department of Transport said it would bring forward the heads of a bill to provide for the new alcohol limits for approval this summer.

However, the following day the then Tánaiste Brian Cowen told the Dáil "there has been no decision or consideration by Government" on the new limits.

Mr Cowen added that the RSA's recommendation had been noted but said it was "important to point out that one would have to consider a full comprehensive assessment of what proportionate penalties should apply were one to go down that road".

He then appeared to suggest that any such decision would be made at some later date saying "much more discussion and consideration of that matter must take place before the Government would be ready to consider any change at the moment".

Legislation would be required, but the Government was at a "preliminary stage in our considerations" he said.

Taken together, these comments appear to suggest a Government department busy working on legislation to provide for a lower blood alcohol limit that the Government has not decided on yet. Odd, no?

However, there is a plausible answer to this apparent governmental disconnect: the Lisbon treaty referendum and the recent provisional licence debacle.

Last October the Government was caught totally off-guard by the strength of the public backlash during over enforcement of the second provisional licence rules.

Political sources believe the Government is now being deliberately vague about the new drink drive limits to avoid antagonising motorists and publicans lest they take these frustrations into the referendum.

Since the publication of the Government's Road Safety Strategy last October, vintners have been vigorously questioning the need for a reduction within the next 12 months, suggesting that the current level is adequate.

They claim a reduction in the limits would have little effect "except [to] criminalise people who may have one drink on their way home from work or a glass of wine with dinner".

To support their view they, surprisingly, have turned to a part of the RSA's report that states "research on reducing the level further, from 80mgs to 50mgs has not seen the expected decline in alcohol-related collisions."

Outside of their campaign in the print and broadcast media, vintners have been contacting TDs - particularly those representing rural constituencies - and councillors directly to convince them that there is no need for lower limits. And they appear to be enjoying some success.

The acknowledgement by the Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern last week that rural pubs were in difficulty indicated that vintners have succeeded in getting the economic well-being of rural publicans included in the Government's consideration of a lower drink drive limit designed to save lives.

Whether Mr Ahern's comments were made in the context of not wishing to antagonise publicans before Lisbon, or as a precursor to a policy announcement, remains to be seen.

Government sources say that a decision has been made and the limit will be reduced to 50mgs of alcohol per 100 ml. The Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey is personally in favour of this level.

It will be interesting to see what happens to this Bill once the Department of Transport brings it forward.