Drink driving is on the increase in Ireland and so are road fatalities. Doctors and gardai are frustrated at complex laws that make catching drink drivers in the act far harder than it should be – and they’re demanding action that politicians just don’t want to take.

High profile cases such as the tragic death of mother-of-two Sheila Dunne in Cork in 2024 and that of Patrick Murphy in Kerry in 2023 prompted emergency doctor Eoin Fogarty to write in the Irish Examiner that the three hour timeframe and legal complications around collecting a blood sample leads “to gardaí and medical staff working against the clock in already high-pressure situations” and makes investigations harder than they should be.

Investigating gardaí have spoken of the frustration of embarking on enormous investigations in the absence of a simple blood test.

Irish Examiner Southern Correspondent Liz Dunphy has been covering this story, talking to Gardaí and medics about what needs to change – she's the guest on today’s Deirdre O’Shaughnessy podcast.

Fatal Cork crash may lead to reform of laws on intoxicated driving

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