The decision of the Forensic Science Laboratory to return more than 200 drug samples to gardai untested would not result in any suspect walking free, the laboratory's director insisted yesterday.
Dr Jim Donovan defended the decision to return the 230 samples untested as part of a move to give priority to cases and to enable his staff to process their huge workload. The untested samples related to cases where the Garda did not have a suspect and there was therefore little point in providing forensic analysis, he explained. All cases where there were suspects would be tested.
"We have been testing samples since 1979 and nobody has walked free because of any shortcoming on our part, and they are not going to do it now," Dr Donovan said.
The Forensic Science Laboratory tested 780 drug samples last year, but has received 8,500 samples already this year. Because of the increased workload, Dr Donovan decided earlier this month to write to the Garda to inform it that certain samples had not been tested and seeking verification that they did not need to be tested.
"We are talking about cases where cannabis resin may have been found on waste ground and there is no suspect, or we may have the contents of an ash tray in a house or a car where the gardai cannot prove who used the tray," he said.
The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform last night rejected media reports that drugs prosecutions might be jeopardised or delayed due to an alleged lack of resources at the forensic laboratory.
Samples were only returned untested in cases where there was no indication of a suspect and no apparent chance of a prosecution, or minor cases where only trace amounts of the drug were present, the Department said. The priority of a drug test could be changed at the request of the i. Garda.
"This is good management practice by the laboratory whereby resources are used to maximise its efficiency," the Department statement read.
The Labour spokesman on justice, Mr Brendan Howlin, said the Government must immediately provide emergency funding to the State laboratory so it could continue its crucial role. "It will come as a major shock to dozens of communities across the country, which have been blighted by drugs that, at a time of plenty, the Government does not have the foresight to properly fund the forensic laboratory," Mr Howlin said.
Dr Donovan noted a dramatic increase in the amounts of amphetamine powder and tablets they were being asked to analyse. There continued to be a large amount of ecstasy tablet samples and there was also an increase in the number of cocaine cases.
"The Celtic Tiger has put more money in people's pockets and this has contributed to the rise in drug cases," Dr Donovan said.
The difficulty in tackling the workload was added to by the temporary absence of five of their 44 scientists and technicians. The laboratory's £2 million budget is provided by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.