Drink driving legislation makes people prisoners in own homes - Senator

Senator Joe O’Reilly of Cavan-Monaghan has stated that drink driving legislation has made people prisoners in their own homes over Christmas.  While supporting the necessary saving of lives he points out that there are not enough alternatives for people in the absence of a full bus and train service.

He is calling for the following urgent actions :
1. VRT free cars for Publicans to incentivise the leaving home of customers.  It will also create a reasonable expectation among customers that they will and should be left home.  This would be a very cheap but effective measure.  
2. Incentives for local taxis to work late and service local bars.  This could be in the form of VRT reduction.
3. A radical extension of the Rural Link service.

Senator O’Reilly will raise this at a forthcoming all day new year’s Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting.  He has written "in the strongest terms" to Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, Minister for Transport and Tourism, Shane Ross, and Rural Affairs Minister, Michael Ring.

“I am not giving up on this as the health and well-being of countless people is at stake," concluded Senator O’Reilly .