Minister Mc Dowell's speed lasers are not covered by law.

national | sci-tech | news report Tuesday February 15, 2005 21:19 by yet again minister.

Minister Mc Dowell (darling of the IMC ireland team) has f***ed up again.

the 2002 Road traffic Act was meant to stop people hurling themselves at full kilter "speed" as it is technically known, on the high roads and bye roads of Eire in anything more threatening than a milk float (not very original I know but who is these days?)

It is a sad fact, that the vast majority of paraplegics due to accidents in Europe were caused by cars.

Cars are very bad.

Which is why the minister armed the gardaí with LASERs. A handy hip version of the European -Death :Ray as used by the Lula Chavez alliance to save the planet from impending asteroid collision this morning: but cheaper on batteries and obviously a lot easier to use.

but the Minister's Laser gun is not covered by the relevant legislation!

from Radio Telefis Eirinnn-

The Minister for Justice has said it is deeply regrettable that handheld laser speed guns used by gardaí were not adequately covered by the relevant legislation.

Yesterday the High Court ruled that the use of the guns, which do not produce a written or permanent record of the alleged speed, does not meet the requirements set out in the Road Traffic Act 2002.

The ruling means that thousands of prosecutions for speeding could be threatened.

Minister Michael McDowell said he recognised that it was very frustrating for members of An Garda Síochána that the legislature had not given them the law required to make the guns effective.

But he said he hoped the situation had been remedied in subsequent legislation passed last year, which alters the requirements.

Mr McDowell was speaking at the announcement of the appointment of three new Assistant Garda Commissioners - Assistant Commissioner Edward Rock, Assistant Commissioner James Kelly and Assistant Commissioner Martin Callinan.

Assistant Commissioner Rock will assume overall responsibility for the new garda traffic corps.

Addressing the controversy surrounding the laser speed guns, he said what had happened had happened, and he now looked forward to putting policy into practice which would see increased garda visibility and enforcement on the country's roads.

He denied he was facing an uphill struggle in trying to get Irish motorists to change their behaviour.

The new traffic corps will see the numbers of gardaí directly involved in traffic duties climb from 500 to 1,200 over the next two years.

Mr McDowell said the key element of the new traffic corps would be making the public aware that they will face vigorous enforcement of the road safety laws.
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For the moment the Euro DR can not guarantee our old foe, Mikey Mc Do-well the blonde haired aryan - jesuit educated - chief bane of Irish love children born to foreign volker that we can help out with the speed situation of Ireland.

Maybe he should consider more RTS! events and car free days, and even asking the Pope over.

And if the minister can't be trusted with Speed LASERs then he surely can't be trusted with firing electrical prods at your arse at forty paces TASERs.