Drink and drugs threat to rural life

RURAL LIFE is being destroyed by people buying “drink and drugs for little or nothing” and then being killed on the roads, the Dáil has heard.

Shane McEntee (FG, Meath West) said that “more than the price of drink in some pubs or the reduction in blood-alcohol levels”, it was the purchase of cheap drugs and alcohol and the subsequent road deaths that were responsible for the decline of rural society.

Mr McEntee said that “for €60 three people can get drunk and take drugs followed by which they drive cars”. He said that former minister for justice Brian Lenihan spoke about introducing measures to “curb the boy racers who are putting people at risk in the middle of the night”.

He said “there are many reasons for the decline in rural life so we should not simply listen to those who oppose drink driving limits”. He called on Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey to remove vehicle registration tax for publicans and people who provide services for social inclusion, and to fund county road safety officers.

The Meath West TD also noted that “last month was only the third of the past 100 months in which the number of deaths was kept below 20”.

Mr Dempsey said Australia had introduced laws for “boy racers” which ranged from “a fine and confiscation of the car for 24 hours regardless of who owned it for a first offence, through confiscation for three months on a second offence and permanent confiscation on a third offence”.

He added that a proposal was being discussed “to confiscate and crush the car before the eyes of the offender in the event of a fourth offence.

“I do not think we need to go to that extreme but the problem needs to be addressed.”