Garda checkpoints plunge in Laois/Offaly as drug driving soars

DRINK and drug driving checkpoints in Laois/Offaly have plunged by 25.1 per cent, according to garda figures.

The number of Mandatory Intoxicant Testing (MIT) checkpoints in the two-county garda division fell from 477 to 357, between the third quarter (Q3) of 2024 and the same period last year.

The drop in the number of checkpoints locally and nationally has been described as “frightening” by an MEP, who says that drug driving “is out of control”.

Figures taken from the PULSE system, a computer system used by An Garda Síochána for policing, crime recording and victim engagement, also show decreases in the number of MIT checkpoints nationally.

12,930 MIT checkpoints were carried out nationally throughout Q3 2024 but this fell to 11,958 checkpoints by Q3 2025, a drop of 7.5 per cent.

Cynthia Ní Mhurchú (FF), EU Transport Committee MEP, has said this is concerning, especially at a time of increased fatalities on Irish roads. In 2025, 190 people were killed in 179 fatal collisions across Ireland, marking the highest number of fatalities on Irish roads since 2014.

The MEP also highlighted significant increases in drug driving figures across most garda districts in Ireland, including a seven per cent increase in drug driving cases at the Tullamore district court office.

Ní Mhurchú has said that a simple trawl back through Garda figures from Q3 2019 show that 15,392 MIT checkpoints were carried out nationally during Q3 2019, which is 3,434 more than in Q3 2025, a difference the MEP has called “frightening”.

“Gardaí carried out thousands more roadside alcohol and drug checkpoints in 2019 than they did in 2025. The figures speak for themselves,” she said.

“Drug driving is out of control but now gardaí are testing fewer people, meaning the drug driving figures I recently received from the courts service are only the tip of the iceberg.

“Those figures show a 37% increase in cases coming before our district courts for drug driving in the first 10 months of 2025. This should be evidence enough for Gardaí to launch a massive increase in drug and drink driving checkpoints, but they have done the opposite and reduced them.” Ní Mhurchú has called on garda management to clarify why there was an overall reduction in roadside testing.

“I want to know the rationale for it. If it is a resource issue, let’s deal with it, but it must be pointed out that there were more gardaí in 2025 than there were in 2019.” Ní Mhurchú raised the issue in the context of a bank holiday weekend. Bank holidays are flashpoints for road collisions and fatalities.

The Road Traffic Measures Bill 2023 was expected to empower the Minister for Transport to introduce double penalty points for driving offences during bank holiday weekends. The measure has not yet been implemented.

Ní Mhurchú has written to the minister seeking clarification on whether this provision will be enacted.