Legislation will probably be needed to provide for drug-testing of drivers involved in traffic accidents, Minister for Transport Martin Cullen said.
There were legal difficulties with such a testing methodology but officials in his department are to discuss the issue with the Attorney General's office.
Mr Cullen said he accepted Opposition criticism that information on road accidents was "scattered" but he was addressing the issue through the establishment of the Road Safety Authority.
Mr Cullen was responding to Fine Gael's transport spokeswoman, Olivia Mitchell, who said she was "horrified to discover that depending on the type of accident and whether a criminal prosecution was likely, a certain line of investigation took place. But if there was no criminal prosecution, even in a case where there was a fatality, a different type of investigation took place".
Ms Mitchell said that, given "this country's road death figures have exceeded any kind of acceptable level, we need firm information when we are drawing up policy".
She also pointed to reports that many accidents might be caused by the use of cocaine and other drugs.
The Minister said 86 per cent of all road accidents were due to driver behaviour, but accepted "it is clear that the abuse of drugs is a major second aspect of the problem."
