Move to make drink-driving law more understandable

The complexity of the law on drink driving is such that it is difficult to ascertain the current situation, even though it is the one most subject to appeal and challenge, the Law Reform Commission has said.

It made the point in a discussion paper published on Wednesday in which it is seeking submissions on making legislation more easily understandable and more accessible.

The commission said it was unsatisfactory that many areas of the law were so difficult to understand, given it was vital that all persons had access to the law as it currently stood, and that improved access to legislation was a key part of the State’s policy on regulatory reform and reducing compliance costs and the cost of doing business.

As an example, the commission pointed to the number of Acts and amendments concerning road traffic law and how this made it “extremely difficult to ascertain what the law on road traffic is at any given time”.

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Users had to examine more than 900 statutory instruments made under various Acts to get a complete picture of the road traffic code, the commission pointed out.

It has asked for submissions on how legislation might be made more easily accessible in an up-to-date form online.

It said legislation should be comprehensive, up-to-date, freely available and underpinned by defined legislative publishing standards.

A copy of the issues paper on accessibility, consolidation and online publication of legislation is available on the commission's website. Submissions are being sought by February 24th.