Up to 50% of intoxicated driving cases in recent weeks are as a result of drug driving, according to Galway’s Garda Chief.

Chief Superintendent Gerry Roche made these comments at a meeting of the City Joint Policing Committee where he said he expected this figure to continue to grow, having come up from 15% in 2022.

Figures provided to the JPC showed that up to the end of September, there were 131 incidents of intoxicated driving detected by gardaí, and of those 47 (35%) were for drug driving – the rest were for drink driving.

Chief Supt Roche said the drug of choice was cocaine and those who use drugs should be aware that they remain in their system for quite some time – a period during which they are not permitted to drive.

“A lot of people are using it at weekends and they are getting caught on the Monday or Tuesday, or even on Wednesday,” he said, adding that it was often a shock to those who are detected.

“It can be a case of a young tradesman or whoever. They’re going to work and get caught a few days later,” he said.
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