Background

A report by Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI), the national independent advocate for reducing alcohol harm, outlines a series of 10 recommendations for the Government to act upon in order to reduce road fatalities.1 The recommendations come in response to the deadliest year on Irish roads since 2014, with 179 fatal collisions claiming 190 lives.

The report opens with a powerful foreword by Donna Price, the founder and president of the Irish Road Victims Association (IRVA), who describes the heartbreaking repercussions of losing someone in a road traffic collision (RTC):

‘The impact does not end with the funeral. It lives on in our shattered lives. In the empty chair at the dinner table, in milestones never reached, in grandchildren never met, in ordinary days that suddenly feel unbearable.’

The Government has committed to a 50% reduction in road deaths and serious injuries by 2030 in the Road Safety Strategy Our Journey Towards Vision Zero.2 

The role of alcohol in road traffic collisions

Alcohol remains a major factor in RTCs, with evidence indicating that over one-third of driver fatalities between 2016 and 2020 had alcohol present in their system.3 One in eight drivers admitted to drink-driving in 2025 according to research from the Road Safety Authority (RSA), a 20% increase on 2024.4 Yet, the likelihood of getting caught is remarkably low. In fact, Ireland has the lowest level of roadside breath testing in the EU, and in 2024 there were just 5,007 incidents recorded on the PULSE database for drink-driving.5 The data present the harsh reality that most drink-drivers are not detected.

AAI recommendations

AAI outline 10 evidence-based recommendations to reduce alcohol-related RTCs:

• Reduce population-level alcohol use by enhancing controls on price, marketing and availability to reduce alcohol-related RTCs
• Allow Emergency Department health professionals to take and store samples as evidence, in order to reduce opportunities for intoxicated drivers to evade accountability
• Provide drink-driving offenders with access to treatment, and enhance service provision
• Strengthen Garda resourcing
• Prioritise closing legal loopholes and providing additional civilian support to relieve gardaí of administrative burdens and time to police roads and operate checkpoints due to the high level of dismissals of drink-driving cases in court (37%); these are well below conviction rates seen in other countries
• Adopt the effective and cost-efficient system used in Australia, where every licensed driver is breath tested at least once annually
• Extend the blood sample collection window from 3 to 12 hours
• Carry out mandatory vehicle impoundment at the time of a failed breath test
• Introduce alcohol ignition interlocks and provide structured diversion programmes for offenders in order to help reduce reoffending and enhance public safety
• Conduct a welfare check on the family when a positive breath test is provided and there are children present in the vehicle.

Longer-term solutions to reduce alcohol use

Long-term solutions must also address Ireland’s alcohol use. International evidence demonstrates clear links between alcohol affordability, licensing hours, and RTCs.6 In Ireland, alcohol remains highly affordable, and proposed extensions to licensing hours risk worsening an already dangerous situation.3,7 A 10% increase in alcohol prices has been shown to be associated with a 7% reduction in road deaths,8 but alcohol excise duty has not been increased since 2014 and minimum unit pricing (MUP) has not been adjusted for inflation since its introduction in 2022.

Treatment is another essential component of any effective response. While more than one-half of Irish drinkers engage in hazardous drinking, and in excess of 500,000 people in Ireland have an alcohol use disorder (AUD), there were only 8,745 treatment cases for problem alcohol use in 2024.9,10 Many repeat drink-driving offenders likely fall within this group, and in 2024 alone 263 drivers were arrested twice for drink-driving.11

Conclusion

Drink-driving remains a preventable cause of death and injury on Irish roads. Implementing evidence-based policies would save lives. A whole-of-government approach is essential. The time has come to end the silent acceptance of drink-driving and make Ireland’s vision of zero road deaths by 2050 a reality.

1. Alcohol Action Ireland. Alcohol and road safety. Dublin: Alcohol Action Ireland 2026. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/45304/
2. Road Safety Authority. Our Journey Towards Vision Zero: Ireland’s Government Road Safety strategy 2021–2030. Dublin: Department of Transport 2021. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/35347/
3. Doyle A, Mongan D and Galvin B Alcohol: availability, affordability, related harm, and policy in Ireland. HRB overview series 13. Dublin: Health Research Board 2024. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/40465/
4. O’Mahony J, Gunning C and Ipsos B&A. The Road Safety Authority safety performance indicators 2025. Dublin: Road Safety Authority 2025. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/44765/
5. Central Statistics Office. Central Statistics Office databases [Ireland] [Crime, population and health statistics]. Published Online: March 2024. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/38530/
6. Babor TF, Casswell S, Graham K, et al. Alcohol: no ordinary commodity: research and public policy. Oxford University Press 2022. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/37638/
7. Ireland. Department of Justice. General Scheme: Sale of Alcohol Bill 2022. Dublin: Government of Ireland 2022. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/37347
8. Castillo-Manzano JI, Castro-Nuño M, Fageda X, et al. An assessment of the effects of alcohol consumption and prevention policies on traffic fatality rates in the enlarged EU. Time for zero alcohol tolerance? Transportation Research part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour 2017;50:38–49.
9. Doyle A. Alcohol Statistics Dashboard for Ireland. Alcohol Statistics Dashboard 2024. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/41357/ (accessed 10 Sep 2024).
10. Mongan D, Millar S and Galvin B The 2019–20 Irish National Drug and Alcohol Survey: main findings. Dublin: Health Research Board 2021. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/34287/
11. Medical Bureau of Road Safety. Medical Bureau of Road Safety Annual Report 2024. Dublin: Medical Bureau of Road Safety 2025. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/44739/