Taxpayers will have to fork out €800,000 for new breathalyser machines
because Transport Minister Noel Dempsey never checked to see if existing
machines can measure new legal alcohol limits, according to Fine Gael Road
Safety Spokesman Shane McEntee TD.
“Noel Dempsey has failed his own breathalyser test. It’s typical of
Minister Dempsey to leap before he looks, and bring in new legislation
without checking whether it can be implemented. And it’s typical of the
lack of joined-up thinking within Fianna Fáil to have purchased
breathalyser machines which cannot be easily recalibrated, leaving
taxpayers to pick up the tab.
“Fine Gael has welcomed the Road Traffic Bill, which includes new alcohol
measures that Fine Gael has been seeking for many years. These new measures
will save lives. But it beggars belief that neither Minister Dempsey, nor
anyone in his Government, thought to estimate the cost to taxpayers.”