A GARDA HAS been suspended from duty after failing a preliminary roadside test for driving while intoxicated. He was on duty and driving a patrol car at the time.

A sample subsequently taken from the garda in hospital has been sent for analysis, and gardaí said the results of this will determine the course of the ongoing investigation.

The garda was tested after a road traffic collision involving an official Garda vehicle and a car on the M1 on Sunday evening.

The incident happened, shortly after 3.30pm at the Lissenhall interchange off the M1 motorway, near Swords in Dublin.

No other car was involved in the incident, and the garda was alone in the vehicle. Dublin Fire Brigade had attended the scene. 

The unmarked car is attached to a specialist unit and the officer was on duty at the time of the crash.

Sources have said that a sergeant was sent to the scene to investigate the collision which is normal procedure in such incidents. It is understood that the driver was taken to hospital.

A garda spokesperson confirmed that the garda failed a roadside test for driving while intoxicated. 

“Gardaí in Swords are investigating a road traffic collision involving an official Garda Vehicle and a car on the M1 yesterday evening, Sunday, 14 November 2021. 

“The driver of the official Garda vehicle, a member of An Garda Síochána, was taken to hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries.  No other injuries were reported. 

“Prior to hospitalisation, the driver of the official Garda vehicle failed a preliminary roadside test for driving while intoxicated and in accordance with standard procedures an evidential sample was obtained at the hospital which has been sent to the Medical Bureau of Road Safety for analysis, the results of which will determine the course of the ongoing investigation.

“An internal disciplinary investigation has also commenced and the member of An Garda Síochána, a male in his 30s based in the Dublin Region, has been suspended from active duty,” a spokesperson said.