Railway Safety Act 2005

Offences involving intoxicants by persons working on railway property.

97.—(1) A safety critical worker who performs a safety critical task, or who makes himself or herself available to perform such a task by attending at work, while being unfit, is guilty of an offence.

(2) A safety critical worker who performs a safety critical task, or who makes himself or herself available to perform such a task by attending at work, while there is present in his or her body a quantity of alcohol such that, within 3 hours after so performing that task or of attending at work, the concentration of alcohol—

(a) in his or her blood will exceed a concentration of 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood,

(b) in his or her urine will exceed a concentration of 107 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine, or

(c) in his or her breath will exceed a concentration of 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath,

is guilty of an offence.

(3) The Minister may, by regulations, provide for other amounts, for the time being, to stand in lieu of any of the amounts of alcohol concentration specified in subsection (2)(a), (b) or (c).

(4) A draft of every regulation proposed to be made under subsection (3) shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulation shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.

(5) In this section and in section 87 , “unfit” means, in relation to a safety critical worker, being under the influence of an intoxicant to such an extent that his or her ability to perform a safety critical task, without exposing a person (including himself or herself) to danger or risk of danger, is for the time being impaired.