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A garda driver was suspended after he collided with a state car and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
The man, who is part of the Garda group of drivers, was detained after being involved in a collision on the M3 at Co Meath yesterday morning.
Nobody was hurt in the incident.
The Garda Commissioner authorized his suspension from service last night and an internal disciplinary investigation is also underway.
Garda drivers are assigned to drive high-ranking members of the judiciary, including judges of the Special Criminal Court, the Director of the Public Ministry, and high-level government personnel such as the Taoiseach and the Minister of Justice.
They are also licensed to carry firearms and are armed to protect the people who drive.
The garda was driving a state car, a garda car without a badge at the time.
Gardaí de Navan was called to the scene and the garda driver was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
They took him to Navan Garda station.
The drunk driving limit is 50 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, however, for “specified drivers”, a lower limit of 20 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood applies.
A “specified driver” includes beginning drivers, novice drivers, professional drivers, and commercial drivers.
It is not clear whether the Garda driver will be considered a professional driver because, while taxi drivers and truck drivers are mentioned in the legislation, Gardaí are not.
It is the ninth Garda to be suspended from service in the past three days.
In a statement this afternoon, Garda headquarters said Gardaí in Navan attended the scene of a single-vehicle traffic accident on the M3 at 10.30am yesterday.
The collision involved an unidentified Garda official car with an occupant. They said no one was injured.
He said that the driver, a member of An Garda Síochána, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant and that a criminal investigation is underway into the violations of the Road Traffic Law.
An internal disciplinary investigation has been launched and the garda has been suspended from its duties.
He said that as it was an ongoing criminal investigation, Garda headquarters had no further comment.
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