170. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his views on the effectiveness of Garda mandatory roadside checkpoints in identifying and discouraging driving while under the influence of drugs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6636/18]

Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Charles Flanagan):  While An Garda Síochána has been testing Irish drivers for drugs, with the assistance of the Medical Bureau of Road Safety (MBRS), since 1999, the Deputy will be aware that my Government colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, commenced the drug driving provisions in the Road Traffic Act 2016 on 13 April 2017. Key measures in the relevant legislation include the provisions relating to Preliminary Drug Testing, which enable Gardaí to test motorists suspected of driving under the influence of drugs at the roadside, and the establishment of roadside checkpoints, known as Mandatory Impairment Checkpoints (MITs), to test drivers for the presence of both alcohol and drugs. These legal provisions strengthen the ability of Gardaí to tackle drug driving. I am advised by Garda authorities that a total of 52,395 MIT checkpoints were conducted by An Garda Síochána since the legislation was commenced in April 2017 to the end of December 2017, during which 612 oral fluid tests were administered. I am also advised by the Garda authorities that the following represents the number of positive roadside drug tests conducted each month since the commencement of the legislation on 13 April 2017 to 31 December 2017:

Of those 90 positive tests, I am informed that 89 persons were arrested, with one person having tested positive passing the subsequent impairment test. It should be noted that the statistics provided by An Garda Síochána are provisional, operational and subject to change and are valid as of 1 February 2018.

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