The number of Garda checkpoints across the Galway Garda Division fell by 3.6 per cent year-on-year – although that was less than half the national drop-off in testing of 7.5 per cent.

That’s according to PILSE figures revealed by Irish MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, highlighting that the number of Mandatory Intoxication Testing Checkpoints in the Galway Garda District fell from 1,125 in the year to the third quarter of 2024 to 1,084 in Q3 of 2025.

The MEP, a member of the EU Transport Committee, was aligning significant increases in drug driving figures across most Garda districts in Ireland with the number of checkpoints Gardaí are carrying out across every district in the country.

She found that there were 12,930 Mandatory Intoxication Testing (MIT) Checkpoints carried out nationally throughout Q3 2024 – but this fell to 11,958 checkpoints by Q3 2025, a drop of 7.5%…against a backdrop of a spike in road deaths in Ireland.

The Ireland South MEP described as even more concerning the fact that a simple trawl back through Garda figures from Q3 2019, show that 15,392 Mandatory Intoxication Testing Checkpoints were carried out nationally during Q3 2019 – 3,434 more checkpoints than in Q3 2025.

A total of 140 people were killed on Irish roads in 2019, 45 less people than in 2025.

As a member of the EU Transport committee, she said that, with road deaths at unprecedented levels, Garda management should be dramatically increasing  the number of Mandatory Intoxication Testing (MIT) Checkpoints on our roads, not decreasing them.

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

“The figures speak for themselves. In 2019, we had 140 deaths, but in 2025, we had 185 deaths.

“Drug driving is out of control but now Gardaí are testing less 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 ten 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. I want to know the rationale for it.

“If it is a resource issue, lets deal with it but it must be pointed out that there were more Gardaí in 2025 than there were in 2019,” she added.

Pictured: Gardaí carried out thousands more roadside alcohol and drug checkpoints in 2019 than they did in 2025.