New Government rules will allow blood samples to be taken from unconscious drivers
Tightening of drink driving rules as part of Christmas road safety campaign
Under the new rules, medical authorities may take a sample from a driver who has been incapacitated and is unable to provide consent to the procedure.
A major tightening of road safety rules, including measures to take blood samples from drivers injured in crashes, will come into effect on Thursday.
Minister for Transport Pascal Donohoe will announce the closure of a loophole, which allowed drunken drivers to avoid blood tests through being unconscious or by claiming injury, at the launch of the annual Christmas road safety campaign.
Under the new rules, medical authorities may take a sample from a driver who has been incapacitated and is unable to provide consent to the procedure.
A driver will be asked on regaining capacity whether they consent to the issuing of a certificate of the test results based on the sample.
The certificate stating the level of alcohol in the bloodstream may be used in a subsequent prosecution.
If the driver refuses to allow the sample to be used, the refusal will be an offence in much the same way that refusing to provide a sample to the gardaí is currently an offence.
Penalties for this offence can include disqualification from driving.
New drug testing
Mr Donohoe will also announce the immediate introduction of new roadside impairment testing for drugs.
The testing will provide An Garda Síochána with additional powers.
Drivers can be asked to perform a range of balance and co-ordination movements, which may indicate if they have been driving while under the influence of drugs.
These tests are non-technological, cognitive tests and will typically involve touching the nose or walking in a straight line.
The Department of Transport was told international experience has shown these tests to be sufficiently precise and objective enough to be used in court.
The new tests will be an important added resource to gardaí in identifying and prosecuting intoxicated drivers, and are seen as a significant new tool for the gardaí in enforcing the law against drug driving.
New breathalyser machines. 
Further development of the drug testing system will be incorporated in the forthcoming Road Traffic Bill, the heads of which are expected to be published in coming weeks.
It is understood this will involve legal provision for new “breathalyser type” machines that can test spittle for drugs.
Mandatory Alcohol Testing will become known as Mandatory Impairment Testing to reflect the changes.
Mr Donohoe will also name a number of driving offences to be added to the penalty points list.
It is understood these will affect learner and novice drivers among others.
The tightening up of the rules comes amid mounting concern over the number of people being killed on the State’s roads, which is set to rise for the second year in a row.
As of Wednesday morning, 179 people had lost their lives on the State’s roads since the beginning of the year, eight more than the figure of 171 for a similar period in 2013.
The total number of deaths in 2013 was 190 and there is concern figures for 2014 will exceed that number.
Road deaths numbers hit a record low in 2012 when 162 people lost their lives.
Majority of undocumented migrants are long-term residents in USA
One in five undocumented people have lived in the State for more than 10 years, according to new research.
The study for the Migrants Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) estimates there are between 20,000 and 26,000 undocumented migrants living here at present.
The overwhelming majority (81%) have been in Ireland for five years or more and 21% have been in the country for more than 10 years.
Some 86.5% of those entered the country legally and subsequently became undocumented.
A similar percentage of (87%) are working and more than half have a third-level education.
The five most common nationalities among undocumented people living here are: Filipino, Chinese, Mauritian, Brazilian and Pakistani.
The research is the first of its kind and involved 540 responses from undocumented migrants.
MRCI spokeswoman Helen Lowry said the survey was the first of its kind and provided an accurate picture of undocumented migrants in the country.
She said it was clear most undocumented migrants were long-term residents in Ireland.
She added: “Given that one third of those surveyed have children living in Ireland, the Government simply cannot continue to ignore this population and hope they will all just leave.
“Undocumented migrants are part of our communities, they have put down roots, made Ireland their home – and for many of these children, Ireland is the only home they have known.”
In a case study published as part of the research one undocumented person living here, referred to as Abdullah, compared the experience of undocumented migrants living in the State with undocumented Irish in the United States.
“This research shows that most undocumented people are like me: young, hard-working, educated and committed to Ireland both financially and emotionally,” he said.
“Last year my father passed away; it was so hard for me not being there. All we’re asking for is a chance to come forward and regularise our situations – to be able to visit our families, to move on with our lives and to stop constantly looking over our shoulders.”
The research will published by John Douglas, president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, this morning.
Ted Nealon was an ‘unique smart politician with a very smart & good brain’
Say’s Taoiseach Kenny
Cross-party tributes paid to late politician, journalist and broadcaster
Ted Nealon: Taoiseach Enda Kenny said of him: “In every role he gave of his best, not alone as an exemplary public servant, but as an exemplary, compassionate and dignified human being”
The late Ted Nealon had a “unique political brain of enormous capacity”, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has told the Dáil. In a tribute to the former Fine Gael TD and minister of state, Mr Kenny said Mr Nealon had an exceptional career in politics and journalism. He died in January, aged 84.
“In every role he gave of his best, not alone as an exemplary public servant, but as an exemplary, compassionate and dignified human being,” Mr Kenny said. “In every interaction, he recognised the other person’s humanity and dignity, which explains why when Ted’s passing was announced it was met with such personal sadness and fond affection in the former constituency of Sligo-Leitrim.’’
On behalf of the Labour Party, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin said Mr Nealon had carved that rare path from prominent current affairs journalist and broadcaster to minister of state.
Mr Howlin recalled that he was editor and founder of Nealon’s Guide to the Dáil and Seanad. “It was one of the most important works in introducing the innate love most Irish people have of the political systems here and giving us the factsheet to work on,” Mr Howlin added.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said Mr Nealon was a “ground-breaking person in terms of media and politics’’. He himself could trace his real engagement with politics toRTÉ 7 Days TV programme, on which Mr Nealon had worked as a journalist.
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said people like Ted Nealon and Brian Farrell had modernised people’s understanding of politics, particularly in their detailed approach and the encyclopaedic knowledge they had. “His work as a journalist obviously empowered him and gave him particular insights as to how he would function as a deputy,” Mr Adams added.
Independent TD Shane Ross, on behalf of the technical group, said Mr Nealon had starred in RTÉ’s general election programme of 1973 because of his extraordinary amount of knowledge.
As a young man, Mr Ross added, he had a versatile sporting career as a Gaelic footballer with Sligo and playing rugby for Lancashire.
Deadly future heatwaves in the UK could kill thousands
“warn our scientists”
Britain will experience three times as many heatwaves as it does now by 2100
Today’s children will face deadly heatwaves which could kill thousands more people by the end of the century, the Royal Society has warned.
If governments do not get a handle on global warming by 2100, Britain will experience three times as many heatwaves as it does now with the death toll rising
Around 2,000 people die each year in the UK because of hot weather, with the elderly at most risk. But that could rise to at least 6,000 in the next century and probably higher because the percentage of over-65s is rising dramatically.
There will also be three times as many floods annually and twice as many droughts, the Royal Society predicts in its new report ‘Resilience to Extreme Weather’ which was published on Thursday.
Experts claim the government must implement new strategies for mitigating the devastation caused by extreme weather including res-establishing flood plains; building dams; increasing reservoir capacity; planting new forests near coasts and creating artificial reefs and coastal barrages.
Professor Georgina Mace, Chair of the working group for the report said: “We are not resilient to the extremes of weather that we experience now and many people are already extremely vulnerable.
“If we continue on our current trajectory the problem is likely to get much worse as our climate and population change.
“By acting now we can reduce the serious risks for our children and grandchildren.”
Scientists calculated the impact of climate change and population changes on the chances of people being affected by floods, droughts and heatwaves around the world.
In the UK a dense and increasingly ageing population means that heatwaves were the most serious threat. The British population is expected to swell to 75 million by 2011 with a huge rise in the number of pensioners.
More than 2,000 British deaths were attributed to the warmest summer for 500 years in 2003. Last year, up to 760 people died in England alone during the July heatwave.
Scientists adopted a “worst case” scenario by assuming an increase in average temperatures around the world of 2.6 – 4.8C by 2100.
But global warming is on course to reach this level unless governments agree to a meaningful strategy for cutting greenhouse gas emissions at critical talks next year.
The researchers defined a heatwave as a run of five days during which night-time temperatures are at least 5C above the norm.
The report issued an urgent call to both governments and private companies to do more to address extreme weather hazards.
The experts recommended that big engineering projects should be combined with natural ecosystem-based approaches such as re-establishing flood plains, protecting coastlines with mangrove forests, and planting vegetation.
The scientists also warned that unless companies improved the way they handle weather risks their credit ratings could suffer.
Co-author Rowan Douglas, chairman of the Willis Research Network – which advises public and private institutions on risk, said it was important that city planners also factor in the increased likelihood of extreme weather events.
“At a macro level, we will re-build most of the world’s cities in the next 30 years, literally,” he said. “We have a choice whether to build them to be vulnerable or resilient.”
The report did not look at wind damage, which poses the greatest potential risk to property in the UK.
Prof Joanna Haigh, Professor of Atmospheric Physics and Co-Director of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and Environment, Imperial College London, said:
“Following widely-reported projections of global mean temperature rise this report spells out very clearly the potential impact of climate change on the lives of real people across the globe.
“While it is impossible to predict the occurrence of a particular extreme weather event in a given place it is clear that the risk of occurrence of such events is increasing, and the potential impacts disastrous.”
Prof Andrew Watkinson, Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia (UEA), added:“This timely report reminds us that extreme weather events affect us all, that we are not as resilient to current extreme events as we could be and that the nature of extreme events is likely to change in the future.”
Dr Grant Allen, Atmospheric physicist at the University of Manchester, said: “One thing is for sure – what once was an extreme weather event will become more normal. It is essentially a widening of the weather spectrum: more frequent floods, droughts, heatwaves and hurricanes.”
Our brain neurons know what is virtual or what is real
A new study shows us?
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