DRIVERS have been warned that new drink-driving limits will come into force within weeks.

The Road Traffic Bill will reduce the limit from 80mg to 50mg which is the equivalent of one glass of wine or a pint of beer.

Rural politicians had put up an intense struggle against the new bill, arguing that it would destroy social connections in the countryside.

Mandatory breath testing is also being introduced for drivers involved in serious accidents.

The new laws will mean a driver with a reading of between 50mg and 80mg will not be banned from driving but will receive three penalty points on their licence for a three-year period.

However, drivers who break the current 80mg limit get an automatic driving ban of at least one year.

Foreign drivers will also be liable for penalty points and there will be tougher drink- driving laws for those who drive professionally, such as taxi drivers and truckers. They will be subjected to an even lower drink-driving limit of 20mg.

Learner drivers during the first two years of their first licence will also be subject to the stringent rules.

If they are caught driving with a level between 20mg and 80mg, these drivers will face a three-month driving ban and a €200 fine.

Transport Minister Noel Dempsey said last night that the bill had been extensively checked to ensure that it would not be defeated by drivers challenging it in the courts.

And he said that he would move towards introducing a drug-testing bill as soon as a reliable form of testing at European level was developed.

The legislation received all party support although rural TDs criticised elements of the legislation because they favoured 'Dublin 4', which had public transport services.

Effect

Fine Gael TD for Cork South West PJ Sheehan said the legislation would have a serious effect on areas of the countryside.

He also outlined that Ireland now had one of the lowest death rates in Europe and "the 80mg limit, when it was imposed correctly by the Garda, has proven results".

Ireland has been recognised this afternoon for a substantial 41pc cut in road deaths since 2001. Ireland currently ranks seventh in the EU for road deaths per million inhabitants.

The European Transport Safety Council praised mandatory alcohol testing, introduced in 2006, and tougher penalties for drink driving, introduced in 2007, as well as the hard-hitting media campaigns.

hnews@herald.ie

- Claire Murphy