Drunk Driving Permits May Become Legal for Some Drivers in Ireland

Drunk driving permits may become legal for some drivers in Ireland. A measure was passed in Kerry county that would relax the limit on drinking and driving for rural drivers.

Councilor Danny Healy-Rae proposed to measure as a way to get lonely older people in rural areas back out onto the road without such strict drinking and driving restrictions in an effort to keep them from getting depressed.

"A lot of these people are living in isolated rural areas where there's no public transport of any kind, and they end up at home looking at the four walls, night in and night out, because they don't want to take the risk of losing their license," Healy-Rae told TheJournal.ie.

Ireland had been cracking down on drunk driving lately and drivers are limited to less than one pint of beer. The measure would allow drivers to have two or three drinks.

The measure applies to people traveling on minor roads with little traffic. It was passed in a 5-3 vote, with 12 councilors absent. Many of those who voted in favor of the measure happen to be pub owners.

Although it was passed by the council, the permits won't be issued just yet. The council has to petition Justice Minister Alan Shatter to make the permits legal.

Not everyone is pleased with the proposal, especially Noel Brett, chief executive of the Road Safety Authority in Ireland.

"It is unthinkable that we would go back to a system that sought to increase our drink-drive limit," Brett told Independent.ie. "We have made substantial progress in Ireland in reducing deaths and injuries on our roads, particularly in rural areas which are hardest hit by road fatalities and injuries."

Alcohol Action spokesman Conor Cullen also finds Healy-Rae's proposal a bit ridiculous, especially based on his argument that it will keep people from getting depressed.

"It should be noted that the link between alcohol use and suicide has been well established and alcohol will exacerbate, not alleviate any mental health difficulties that a person may be struggling with, such as depression or anxiety," Cullen told the BBC. "Those in rural areas who may be suffering from isolation will not benefit from putting their lives and the lives of the other members of their community at risk by drinking and driving."

The legal alcohol limit in Ireland dropped from the UK standard of 80mg per 100ml of blood to 50 mg for most drivers, according to the BBC. From 2008 and 2012 Cullen noticed that drunk driving deaths decreased by 42 percent.

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