EVERYONE IN A pub is an expert on how much they have had to drink. Ask at nine o’clock and you will get a precise answer. Two pints, maybe two and a half, and a packet of crisps for ballast. Ask at midnight and the answer gets vaguer, and a lot more confident.

That gap between what we think we can handle and what is actually in our blood is at the heart of a row that blew up and fizzled out in about 24 hours earlier this month.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) issued a tender for 20 breathalyser terminals for pubs, hotels, golf clubs and big sports venues, plus another 20 for summer events like Electric Picnic and the Galway Races. The estimated value was €1.5 million. A day after the news broke, after what is understood to have been ministerial intervention, it was stood down.

“I welcome the decision not to proceed with this procurement process. It is the right decision,” said Minister of State for Road Safety Seán Canney.

Social Democrats transport spokesperson Aidan Farrelly had called the plan “disgraceful” and “neglectful”. His sharpest line was the best one. The message to drivers, he said, should be “never ever drink and drive, not drink as much as you will get away with, which is what this policy conveys”.

The RSA hit back that its “message on drink-driving has not changed: if you are drinking, don’t drive”. It also points out that the €1.5 million is the estimated total across a potential seven-year contract, covering event terminals as well as the pub and hotel units, and that its machines have already been used 121,390 times at events.

I have sympathy for the minister. I also have some for the RSA, which is an unusual place for me to be. From the outside, the government’s relationship with the authority does not look cordial. The muddled messaging on what to do........

© TheJournal