Just 58 motorists have tested positive for the presence of drugs at garda mandatory roadside checkpoints over eight months, amid slow progress in training gardaí to administer the new tests.
Four months after the intoxicant checkpoints had been introduced in April last year, only 13 motorists had tested positive. The most successful month for positive detections of motorists driving under the influence of drugs was August, where 15 motorists were caught at roadside tests.
Up to the start of November 2017 just 1,856 gardaí had received training to carry out the tests, out of 13,551 members of the force, according to figures obtained through a parliamentary question from Independents 4 Change TD Tommy Broughan.
While he was provided with the number of positive tests, he was not told how many roadside drug tests in total had been carried out.
Gardaí had estimated they would carry out 50,000 tests a year, according to the specifications of the contract to supply mouthpieces for the tests.
Source: Jack Power, David Labanyi, The Irish Times, 05/01/18
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