Alcohol Action Ireland press release, Wednesday, 11 March 2026
Ahead of the St Patrick’s bank holiday weekend, when Ireland’s pubs and roads are busier than usual, Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI), the national independent advocate to reduce alcohol harm, has published a new report on drink driving – an issue that impacts families in every county in Ireland.
The report, which includes a foreword from Donna Price, founder and president of the Irish Road Victims Associations (IRVA) collates relevant national and international data and puts forward a series of recommendations including:
- the need for a standard breath testing target equal to every licensed driver being tested at least once a year
- updating of laws regarding the collection of blood samples from suspected drink drivers
- impounding of vehicles for a failed breath test as is the case for uninsured vehicles
- the introduction of the alcohol ignition interlock system for offenders
AAI CEO Dr Sheila Gilheany said: “The current Government strategy on road safety set an ambitious target in 2021 of a 50% reduction in road deaths and serious injuries by 2030. However, recent years have seen a significant toll on Irish roads with 2025 being the worst year for fatalities since 2014, and tragically 2026 so far is even worse. Government needs to adopt a strategy that considers every aspect of how collisions occur and this obviously includes tackling the scourge of drink driving.
“Alcohol is involved in over a third of driver deaths on our roads. Around one in eight drivers in Ireland admit to having driven after consuming alcohol in the past 12 months, while Ireland has the lowest level of roadside breath testing in the EU. This means that around 380,000 people drink drive each year – that’s on average more than 1,000 drink drivers on our roads every day – yet there are only around 5,000 arrests for drink driving annually, so drink drivers have a mere 1.3% chance of being caught at a checkpoint in Ireland. Australia has set a breath test target equal to testing every driver at least once a year, so people know they have a good chance of being caught. More than one-third of driver fatalities in Ireland had been drinking prior to the incident, in Australia that figure is 14%.
“There are also cumbersome legal procedures around the collection of blood samples following collisions, leading some offenders to evade detection. As in Australia, any Emergency Department doctor or nurse should be able to take a sample and store it in a one-way safe to preserve the chain of evidence. The time window for taking blood samples following a collision must also be extended from the current 3-hour limit to 12 hours. This is particularly relevant given the long distances to some hospitals from collisions in rural areas.
“Crucially, Government must act on the significant international evidence that reducing population-level alcohol consumption by enhancing controls on price, marketing and availability has an impact in reducing alcohol related collisions. Research across the EU indicates that a 10% increase in alcohol prices is associated with a 7% reduction in road deaths – for Ireland in 2025 that would be 13 people still alive. Every Budget that doesn’t include an increase in excise duties is a missed opportunity to reduce deaths on Irish roads.”
In Ireland, the main policy levers in relation to alcohol prices are excise duties, which are set by the Minister for Finance and the level of Minimum Unit Pricing of alcohol which is set by the Minister for Health. However, there has been no increase in excise duties in over 12 years and the level of MUP which was introduced in 2022 was first proposed back in 2013 so its public health benefit is being eroded by inflation.
Dr Gilheany continued: “There is also a significant body of research which shows the link between increased alcohol availability through longer licensing hours and impacts on road safety. For example, a one-hour extension of late-night opening hours is associated with a 30% increase in road collisions in rural areas. The Programme for Government states there are plans to introduce changes to licensing hours through the Sale of Alcohol Bill/Intoxication Liquor Bill which are in development with the Department of Justice. It is essential that the Government does not make a bad situation worse through such actions.
“There is no doubt there must be greater resourcing of An Garda Síochána to tackle drink driving, which is not helped by the fact that there are almost 400 fewer gardaí in roads policing units now than there were 15 years ago, with the number of gardaí in the unit halved since 2009. Meanwhile 37% of prosecutions for drink driving do not succeed in court, which is an unacceptably high figure that must be investigated and any legal loopholes closed.
“An arrest for drink driving should also be viewed as an opportunity to ensure those with an alcohol use disorder (AUD) have timely access to treatment and there needs to be a significant enhancement of service provision. As with so much to do with alcohol harm, children can be the forgotten victims. Where someone provides a positive breath test and there are children or juveniles present in the vehicle, AAI recommends that the appropriate services should be notified of the incident to facilitate a welfare check on the children and family. This is important as we know that alcohol is a risk factor for neglect and abuse.
“It being St Patrick’s weekend, it must also be acknowledged that Ireland’s heavy drinking environment is part of the picture and addressing this must form part of the solution. Much of what is recommended requires cooperation across multiple Government departments. However, if taken together they will bring Ireland closer to achieving the RSA’s laudable target of zero deaths on Irish roads by 2050.
“There is strong public support for action to address Ireland’s alcohol issues despite opposition from vested interests. Surely the government must call time on drink driving on Irish roads.”
Donna Price, president of Irish Road Victims Association, said: “Behind every statistic is a real person, a life cut short, a future extinguished, and a family left destroyed forever. If we are committed to reducing road deaths and delivering on Vision Zero, we must have rigorous and highly visible enforcement. There must be a real likelihood of being caught if you are drink driving, and of losing your licence. We must expect to meet regular garda checkpoints with mandatory intoxicant testing on our journeys, not just on holiday weekends.”
Dr Eoin Fogarty, Emergency Medicine and Retrieval Consultant, CUH, said: “I have witnessed some truly horrific scenes that were the result of drink driving and having to tell someone their loved one has been killed or seriously injured is something I’ve had to do far too often, when more can be done to eradicate it. Unfortunately, in Emergency Departments we regularly see obviously intoxicated people avoid drink-drive testing due to the law as it currently stands. Similarly, people who make the decision to drink drive are allowed back driving immediately after failing a test, yet vehicles are removed from people who drive without tax and insurance. There is no logic in this.”
ENDS
