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?

El Stuntman

putting aside Mr Ferris's, ahem, 'colourful' past - surely Sinn Fein would like to take the opportunity to demonstrate that they are a party of principle and drop Ferris from the ticket if the alcohol test result is positive?

I for one would heartily applaud such a step and feel it would be a fine example to set

Zombrex

Poblachtach wrote:

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

Well said, I mean Sinn Fein members should be allowed to drink and drive just like the rest of us ... :rolleyes:

Poblachtach wrote:

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

Unfortunately that is probably true ....

Schuhart

Heinrich wrote:

Blacker than Roger Casement?

Are suggesting Martin Ferris has a secret diary?

Turner

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

A politically motivated arrest ? I dont think so.

Maybe if an Assistant Commissioner or the Commissioner had arrested him for drink driving you could call it politically motivated.

The arrest was most likely one of a number of similar arrests on the night performed by a 19-25yr old garda. Somebody who is doing his job and should be commended for doing it well. Somebody not influenced by politics and showed the same ethical standards as the young Garda who arrested a Traffic Corps Superintnedent.

As for Mr Ferris ending up in a garda station. His driving either brought him to the attention of a garda who...

1. formed his opinion he was intoxicated and arrested him
2. formed his opinion he was intoxicated and asked him to take a breath test which he failed and was then arrested

or else he came across a random breath test checkpoint and failed the test and was arrested.

Heinrich

Schuhart wrote:

Are suggesting Martin Ferris has a secret diary?

Considering that Bertie has a secret agenda why not?

When you think back on the recent colourful past of CJH (gun running et al.) and his poodle who signed the blank cheques and became the rottweiler let's leave Ferris alone. He may have been a bold boy but he paid for his crimes as did Adams. FF and the plasterers, Manu supporters, horseracind pundits and developers have not paid anything, yet!

Zambia

If his blood alcohol level is over the limit well them he should be
1: Arrested
2: Convicted
3: Punished

End of Story really

Seth Brundle

from http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/?jp=MHAUQLGBAUCW

In an interview on local radio, Deputy Ferris admitted that he had drank two pints and a glass of red wine in the course of Saturday night. He said he is awaiting results of analysis on a urine sample that he gave to gardaí.

InFront

If we assume for a minute that he's telling the truth, then that kind of alcohol over the course of an evening, for a man, would be scratchy enough, wouldn't it?

I really do think that there should be a zero tolerance policy on drinking and driving. Just for taking the risk, I hope he's guilty.

Schuhart

Heinrich wrote:

When you think back on the recent colourful past of CJH (gun running et al.) and his poodle who signed the blank cheques and became the rottweiler let's leave Ferris alone. He may have been a bold boy but he paid for his crimes as did Adams. FF and the plasterers, Manu supporters, horseracind pundits and developers have not paid anything, yet!

In another thread I've been seeking (without success) to find a positive reason for voting for SF. SF supporters (and I'm not suggesting you are one because I simply don't know if you've any allegience) seem to operate on the basis of saying 'we're no worse than FF'. I'd prefer the idea of finding someone to support who was maybe a bit better.

That said, this particular incident certainly isn't as serious as, say, the Jim McDaid business and there are other substantial reasons for not choosing SF that this incident should not overshadow.

InFront wrote:

If we assume for a minute that he's telling the truth, then that kind of alcohol over the course of an evening, for a man, would be scratchy enough, wouldn't it?

The short answer is yes, that should put a normal person over the limit. But apparently its not an exact science. Depending on exactly how soon after drinking some was tested and the physical characteristics of the drinker, one pint might put someone over the limit. On the other hand, it might be possible for someone to have a glass of wine with a meal followed by a couple of pints and pass. We'll only know as events develop what happens in this case.

E92

I'd love to say it will affect his chances of getting re-elected, but this is the constituency which a gave a man who was a member of the IRA the highest first preference vote 5 years ago, so it might actually increase his vote. I suppose we should be greatful that he was only in a machine that can kill people on suspicion of driving drunk, then using a machine which will kill people, as he may have done when he was a member of an organisation that Sinn Fein thought was the country's government. Either way, he'll still unfortunately get in(to Dáil Éireann), and safely in. A lot of rural places(thats not Cork;), for those Dubs who might be surprised to know that life does actually exist outside the pale:D ) think its ok to drink and drive, something I obviously think is not.

Now I know that a former Fine Gael councillor suggested that it was ok if you had a few pints(as did another FF councillor whose name escapes me, and I think he still is in the their party) but you'll note that Enda expelled him from the party, before anyone criticises the party I support on this issue.

Schuhart

E92 wrote:

A lot of rural places(thats not Cork;), for those Dubs who might be surprised to know that life does actually exist outside the pale:D ) think its ok to drink and drive, something I obviously think is not.

Given that you're obviously still living at home and possibly considering marriage to your sister as the only way of avoiding foriegn influences entering the gene pool, you may be surprised to hear that by and large Dubliners are recent decendants of people who settle there from somewhere West of Maynooth. Hence, we tend to have close relations in some other part of the country that makes us quite aware of the country beyond our doorstep. If only this understanding was shared in the opposite direction, life might be a little more straightforward. Unfortunately, there are people out there who have an experience of Dublin and Dubliners that's limited to watching the crowd in Hill 16 occasionally.

But, of course, you're right on the main point. If enough Kerry people are happy electing a gunman (or Jackie Healy Rae for that matter) then they'll hardly baulk at a possible drink driving offence. It simply reflects the fact that many people elect gob****es because that's what represents them.

gandalf

Schuhart banned for a week for personal abuse.

iamhunted

if he is convicted of drink driving then sinn fein should act responsibly and review his placement in the election campaign. to be honest, if ferris didnt get in, another sf candidate would anyway.

Judt

iamhunted wrote:

if he is convicted of drink driving then sinn fein should act responsibly and review his placement in the election campaign. to be honest, if ferris didnt get in, another sf candidate would anyway.

The level of political debate around SF is thus. "We used to be a bunch of terrorists, so a bit of drink driving ain't so bad!" Of course SF isn't the only party letting its folks away with blue murder, but that's another debate. I heart Irish politics.

LordSutch

I still cant get my head around the the fact that the good people of Kerry might vote for Ferris in the first place
(whilst fully being aware of his past) ...................

Enright

whilst im not a fan of either Martin or his party, surely he is innocent until prooved guilty!!!

When the results of the bllod test come back, let the people of kerry judge him then

Raiser

Had to laugh at his weak attempt to spin this one for the voters in da Kingdum. Apparently after 2 pints and a glass of wine [admitted to so far] he thought he was sober enough to drive towards a Garda checkpoint that "he knew was there" - Quoted in the that rubbish rag for the short-armed da Independent today

........Surely this proves that either his judgement was impaired to the extent that he shouldn't be in charge of a motor vehicle or else that he is too fcukin' thick to be driving a car in the first instance.

- sure poor auld Jim McDaid only had a few Wine Gums that time

Dyr

Twisted07 wrote:

How can the people of Kerry do this,like the people of Dublin keep electing Pat Rabbitte and De Rosa whilst fully being aware of their past.

Indeed, voting for reformed comrades from the workers party. Disgusting

Mighty_Mouse

if he is convicted of drink driving then sinn fein should act responsibly and review his placement in the election campaign. to be honest, if ferris didnt get in, another sf candidate would anyway

Not the first politician to be done for drink-driving.
Is it a case of double-standards? Should we set the precedent that every politician from now on caught drink-driving should be fired & expelled from their political party?

Are we losing sight of punishment fitting the crime?

Is this just another case of where anything republican-related gets twisted into an opportunity for people to jump up and down shouting: "terrorist, baby-eaters, murderers.........."

seamus

Mighty_Mouse wrote:

Not the first politician to be done for drink-driving.
Is it a case of double-standards? Should we set the precedent that every politician from now on caught drink-driving should be fired & expelled from their political party?

I think you'll find that people call for the resignation of any such politicians, not just those from Sinn Fein.
New Labour in the UK has a policy that once a member gets a certain amount of continuous bad press (48 hours or something), then they must resign from the party.
However here in Ireland, their parties just rally around them, tell them to keep their head down, and pretend that everything's OK. I firmly believe that a politician could drive through a playground hammered, kill 10 kids, and still manage to get re-elected (whenever he gets out of jail), purely because of the smokescreen politics that all of the parties engage in.

Are we losing sight of punishment fitting the crime?

Not in the slightest. If a Garda was found to have committed a criminal offence, he'd be fired. If an HR executive in a big company was found to have engaged in nepotism, he'd be fired. If an accountant was found to be fiddling a company's books, he'd be fired.
Whatever job it is that you do, there are certain actions that you just absolutely cannot do, and certain offences that are completely at odds with the job that you do, and your ability to do it. Politicians are no exception to this. Any party that fails to dump a member who has openly flouted the law aren't worth looking at.