Martin Ferris arrested on suspicion of drink driving

ArthurDent

http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0422/ferrism.html

wonder how this will impact on his election campaign if charged and found guilty?

Time Magazine

If he's found innocent, I'm sorry for any inconvenience it caused him.

If he's found guilty, he'll be finding it very difficult to be making the trip to Dublin from Kerry if he has no licence. Surely the people of Kerry won't elect someone who'd be requiring taxi expenses a couple of times every week? .

Malone

He will top the polll in North Kerry.

gilroyb

Maybe he's just really confident of getting a ministerial car in a few weeks?

InFront

Malone wrote:

He will top the polll in North Kerry.

This was exactly my first thought. But maybe he should mug an old lady, just to make certain.

mike65

Sloppy on his part if true but it won't make the slightest difference come polling day. Jim McDaid set the bar and Ferris is comfortably below it!

Mike.

Malone

Did he have to take this test.:D

http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2007/failed-sobriety-test-p1.php

aidan_walsh

RTE Article wrote:

Mr Ferris said in a statement released through the Sinn Féin press office that he does not believe he was over the limit, and has described drink driving as unacceptable and indefensible.

I can't be the only one to see a contradiction here, can I?

(Politicians contradicting themselves? Never...)

Ibid wrote:

If he's found guilty, he'll be finding it very difficult to be making the trip to Dublin from Kerry if he has no licence. Surely the people of Kerry won't elect someone who'd be requiring taxi expenses a couple of times every week?

Just as well the train station is pretty much in the town centre

seamus

aidan_walsh wrote:

I can't be the only one to see a contradiction here, can I?

Lip service. Like hearing Paisley complain about sectarian violence and bigotry.

As someone else said, I very much doubt this would have any effect in his constituency. If anything, it may make him a champion for the alcoholic enclaves of North Kerry who are angry that they're unable to enjoy the pub without having five pints and driving home.

El Stuntman

sure he's an experienced mariner...he could just sail from Kerry to Dublin when he gets put off the roads

gandalf

I'm just waiting for the shouts of "biased media" from the usual quarters.

I doubt this will effect his chances in Kerry at all, knowing this country of ours it has probably enhanced it unfortunately.

Zombrex

whats the procedure for pulling someone over for drink driving? He claims he is sure that he wasn't over the legal limit and they are waiting for results for a sample sent for analysis?

Do they not just breathalyse you and something goes "beep" Or is it likely that that happened, he failed it and he is challenging the results?

stovelid

Wicknight wrote:

whats the procedure for pulling someone over for drink driving? He claims he is sure that he wasn't over the legal limit and they are waiting for results for a sample sent for analysis?

Do they not just breathalyse you and something goes "beep" Or is it likely that that happened, he failed it and he is challenging the results?

I thought that the machine just gave a yes or no reading. If the former, you were pulled in to the station for a full test? Forgive me if wrong, I've been tested before but passed it.

I don't think a conviction for drink driving would harm Martin Ferris chances TBH.

Dyr

The provos must really be out of business if this is the best that the berties praetorian gardai can come up with to damage the shinners in the run up to an election.:rolleyes:

if he's guilty though, he must be a right dumb b****rd

Ulster9

I'm just waiting for the shouts of "biased media" from the usual quarters.

I doubt this will effect his chances in Kerry at all, knowing this country of ours it has probably enhanced it unfortunately.

Foolish and irresponsible on his part.No problems with the media here, i assume that had he been a member of any other political party that it would have been reported in similar fashion.While it seems he has a great deal of respect in North Kerry it seems to be quite a conservative place and unfortunately with a certain elected representative from Tipperary suggesting it was ok to have 4 pints and drive and then seeing his popularity rise it does suggest there is a substantial element of people who do not get the message.

swiss

Even if he wasn't over the limit, it still seems very very probable that he will be close to that limit. So even if he does avoid conviction, it speaks to the hypocrisy of the man condemning drink driving whilst engaging in it.

Sadly, I doubt this will affect his popularity. In fact, if enough people in that constituency feel that the drink driving measures are draconian, it may enhance it.

jhegarty

aidan_walsh wrote:

I can't be the only one to see a contradiction here, can I?

(Politicians contradicting themselves? Never...)


Just as well the train station is pretty much in the town centre

I think he is saying i'm not guilty...

either way , i don't think random testing/recent drink drive laws has too many fans where he is running.... and ff can't hardly use it against him ,given some of thier own issues in that area....

Liam Byrne

It's given him news coverage, and as has been pointed out above, that's always good for a politician in the run-up to an election.

Bertie has been involved in many scandals over the past year, but that hasn't stopped him apparently becoming more popular...... :rolleyes:

And it'll make a change for Ferris to be involved in a scandal that equates to something normal people can identify with - as pointed out above, many rural people might actually identify with this.

Plus, there's at least one post above that sides with Ferris that it might be some form of witch-hunt - nothing like that to bring supporters out in force!

If he's guilty, throw the book at him; if not, it's a non-story.

Seth Brundle

Bambi wrote:

The provos must really be out of business if this is the best that the berties praetorian gardai can come up with to damage the shinners in the run up to an election.:rolleyes:

If it was a politically motivated arrest then I would suspect a different party leader was behind it!

Was Martin Ferris arrested or something prior to the last election?

LordSutch

I was once pulled over by the Police in England and politely but forcefully asked to blow into the dreaded Alco Bag "If it stays Green you are in the clear Sir" ~ if it turns Yellow/Orange you are borderline" and if the indicator turns Red you will be arrested & taken to the Station and charged" ~ No ifs no buts ...........

As it happened I was in the clear, so how come Ferris had to give a urine sample also? and if he failed the "blow" test why wasnt he arrested? I can only presume that the Arrest procedure is very different in the Republic from the English/ British system?

Can anyone clarify?

Zombrex

ArthurF wrote:

I was once pulled over by the Police in England and politely but forcefully asked to blow into the dreaded Alco Bag "If it stays Green you are in the clear Sir" ~ if it turns Yellow/Orange you are borderline" and if the indicator turns Red you will be arrested & taken to the Station and charged" ~ No ifs no buts ...........

As it happened I was in the clear, so how come Ferris had to give a urine sample also? and if he failed the "blow" test why wasnt he arrested? I can only presume that the Arrest procedure is very different in the Republic from the English/ British system?

Can anyone clarify?

Exactly what I was wondering ...

From CitizenInfo webpage

may require the driver of the vehicle to do the following;

• Provide a specimen of their breath by exhaling into equipment used for indicating the presence of alcohol in the breath, or
• Accompany the Garda (or another Garda) to a place (including a vehicle) at or near the checkpoint to provide by a breath specimen, or
• To leave the vehicle at the place where it has been stopped.

Based on that I would say he failed the breath test, since it seems that is all they can give him at the checkpoint. The blood tests are carried out later to make 100% you were over the legal limit.

seamus

ArthurF wrote:

As it happened I was in the clear, so how come Ferris had to give a urine sample also? and if he failed the "blow" test why wasnt he arrested? I can only presume that the Arrest procedure is very different in the Republic from the English/ British system?

Can anyone clarify?

After being arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and brought to the station, the person is required to give
1. Two specimens of breath (into a testing apparatus)
and/or
2. A specimen of blood, or a specimen of urine.

The and/or bit is at the discretion of the Gardai (i.e. they can require you to give both 1 & 2 or just 1 or 2. The arrested person has the option of whether they wish to provide urine or blood, if that's what has been requested.

Interestingly enough, refusal to provide a breath sample at the roadside, and refusal to provide samples at the Garda station are themselves individual offences that can land you with big fines and jail time.

Schuhart

On the main point, Martin Ferris was convicted for the possession of explosive substances for unlawful purpose and for possession of firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life. If Kerry people ignore that and vote for him, what makes anyone think a suggestion of drunk driving will have any impact?

ArthurF wrote:

I can only presume that the Arrest procedure is very different in the Republic from the English/ British system?

I'm not a lawyer, and I don't know if this has a specific relevance in this case. However, we have a written constitution. The UK doesn't. That effectively means the UK Parliament has more power to pass laws. For the sake of argument, they might be able to pass a law stating that the blow bag is enough proof for an arrest. Over here, if the Oireachtas was to pass such a law it might be found inconsistent with the Constitution.

I'd stress I'm not saying this is a definitive answer to your specific question - just that this is a significant general difference between here and the UK.

Judt

In Ireland we tend to elect a fair whack of these "Lovable rogues" who, for example, get done for drink driving and then promote it as championing the right of people to drive home locked from the pub. Of course it's not a particularly Irish thing per se - Chirac in France is getting waves of sympathy from people over the accusations that he dipped into city funds for political purposes when he was the mayor of Paris, with people saying "Well, sure, I'd probably have done the same..."

The people get the government they deserve, is the old saying.

Dyr

So, if there's a Mortar Murphy can there be a Martini Ferris?

LostinBlanch

Wicknight wrote:

Exactly what I was wondering ...

From CitizenInfo webpage

may require the driver of the vehicle to do the following;

• Provide a specimen of their breath by exhaling into equipment used for indicating the presence of alcohol in the breath, or
• Accompany the Garda (or another Garda) to a place (including a vehicle) at or near the checkpoint to provide by a breath specimen, or
• To leave the vehicle at the place where it has been stopped.

Based on that I would say he failed the breath test, since it seems that is all they can give him at the checkpoint. The blood tests are carried out later to make 100% you were over the legal limit.

Well I'd heard on the radio that if someone burps or something just before taking the breathalyser test it throws the reading out and could give a false positive. AFAIK this involved a case someone took to court (surprise, surprise). So the blood or urine test is then used to determine whether someone is over the limit.

marco murphy

This has been done before. Mr. Ferris no freind of the Gardai. The current government will go to any lengths to blacken the name of Irish Republicans. Again, this incident, will not effect the peoples decision to vote him in.

Schuhart

Poblachtach wrote:

The current government will go to any lengths to blacken the name of Irish Republicans.

He's a convicted gun-runner. How much blacker can it be?

Poblachtach wrote:

Again, this incident, will not effect the peoples decision to vote him in.

That much is true, which says an amount about the people who vote for him.

seamus

Poblachtach wrote:

This has been done before. Mr. Ferris no freind of the Gardai. The current government will go to any lengths to blacken the name of Irish Republicans.

Ah yes, because the Gardai and the government are comfy bedfellows :rolleyes:
If there was even the slightest shred of "conspiracy" about this, I'd say it's more likely that the Gardai just picked him up off their own bat.

impr0v

LostinBlanch wrote:

Well I'd heard on the radio that if someone burps or something just before taking the breathalyser test it throws the reading out and could give a false positive. AFAIK this involved a case someone took to court (surprise, surprise). So the blood or urine test is then used to determine whether someone is over the limit.

Yes, if the person being tested fails the breath test, it's theoretically enough to secure conviction. However, if charges were brought on the basis of the breath test alone, its accuracy would come under sustained attack in court, especially if it was anyway borderline. Therefore, the established practice is usually to take a blood/urine sample, with a higher accuracy, to provide further corroborative evidence of being over the legal limit.

Heinrich

Schuhart wrote:

He's a convicted gun-runner. How much blacker can it be?

Blacker than Roger Casement?