Media release from Labour Associate Health Spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway

Labour Associate Health Spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway says failing to lower the Blood Alcohol Limit to 0.05 is just one of the many failures in the Government's changes to drink driving laws announced this week.

"There is absolutely no mention of the Law Commission's recommendations with regard to intervention and treatment of alcohol addiction," said Iain Lees-Galloway.

"The Government's approach to behaviour-change is all stick and no carrot and completely ignores the fact that many repeat drink-drivers are never accessed for alcohol addiction so that the appropriate action can be taken to reduce the likelihood of repeat offending.

"Many community-based alcohol and drug treatment centres are facing funding cuts. If the Government is serious about tackling drink-driving it should be working harder to ensure both the facilities and the workforce is available to deal with the root causes of drink-driving.

"There is still a chance for the Government to address this issue. All the Law Commission's recommendations should be included in the Government's legislation so they can at least go to select committee for a fair public hearing."

"The Government has dropped the ball. But this time I think people would appreciate a u-turn that takes us in the right direction," Iain Lees-Galloway said.