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Irish Drink Driving Laws

Drunk Driving

New Road traffic Act 2006 enforced from March 2007 :

  • Minimum mandatory disqualification for drink driving up from three months to one year.
  • The maximum is six years, up from four years.
  • Drink drivers who refuse to give a urine or blood sample get automatic four-year ban for first offence, double the two years which applied up to March 5.
  • This rises to a automatic ban of six years for a second offence.

More details here: Stricter Penalties


See Also: Rules of the Road - Alcohol


And: Rules of the Road - Garda


Drink driving law is set out in the Road Traffic Act, 1994 as amended by the Road Traffic Act, 1995. 


Automatic disqualification applies to all drink driving convictions but the minimum period varies depending on the alcohol levels in individual cases.  Details of the disqualification periods are as follows:


OFFENCE Minimum Period
1st Offence 2nd Offence
Blood alcohol level per 100 ml of blood    
Exceeding 80 mg but not exceeding 100 mg 1 Year 2 Years
Exceeding 100 mg but not exceeding 150 mg 2 Years 4 Years
Exceeding 150 mg 3 Years 6 Years
Refusal offences 4 Years 6 Years
Drunk Driving
(see footnote 1)
2 Years 4 Years


Notes:(1) Where a person is convicted of the offence of being under the influence to such an extent as to "be incapable of having proper control of the vehicle".



Equivalent Tables
Blood Alcohol Level Urine Alcohol Concentration Breath Alcohol Concentration
81 mg - 100 mg 107 - 135 mg 35 - 44
101 mg - 150 mg 136 - 200 mg 45 - 66
151 mg or above 201 or above 67 or above












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