At a special sitting of the District Court in Donegal Town yesterday 26 defendants were convicted on drink-driving-related charges. Some of the offences dated back to 1997 and this almost clears the enormous backlog of drink-driving cases that had accumulated before the north-west courts.
The backlog originated after legal submissions to the High Court were made relating to the validity of breathalyser equipment and how gardai were trained to use the system.