Court of Appeal rejects Patrick Clyne’s drug-driving legal argument

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Court of Appeal rejected a legal argument raised by Patrick Clyne during his appeal against a drug-driving conviction. On 30 September 2020, it answered a question referred by the Circuit Court, holding that any one of three prescribed preliminary tests could be sufficient before a blood specimen was required.

Clyne had been convicted at Longford District Court on 5 March 2019 of driving while under the influence of an intoxicant. He was fined €250, disqualified from driving for one year and had his licence endorsed. The judgment also records “three months’ imprisonment/five days in default of payment”, without resolving the apparent inconsistency between those periods.

The judgment said the case arose after a checkpoint at Market Street, Granard, County Longford, on 29 January 2018. Clyne provided an oral-fluid specimen which tested positive for cocaine. He was arrested and taken to Longford Garda Station, where he permitted a doctor to take a blood specimen.

During the appeal at Longford Circuit Court on 1 May 2019, Clyne’s counsel argued that the arresting Garda had not applied the law properly before requiring the blood specimen. The defence argued that an impairment test or another oral-fluid test was required in addition to the preliminary oral-fluid test.

Judge Keenan Johnson referred the legal question to the Court of Appeal. In the judgment delivered by Ms Justice Ní Raifeartaigh, the court held that the legislation was unambiguous and answered yes to whether any one of the three tests was sufficient.