The case of allegedly driving under the influence of cocaine against a former TD heard evidence from a member of the Medical Bureau of Road Safety regarding the procedure of testing the sample taken from the defendant.
Court proceedings against former Labour TD Colm Keaveney, accused of drug driving, have been further adjourned pending legal submissions in relation to the charge against him.
Mr Keaveney (54) of Milltown Road, Tuam, county Galway, who was present in court, has been charged with driving with cocaine in his system, contrary to the Road Traffic Act. He was arrested at Cummer, Tuam on June 12th, 2023.
It is the contention of the defence that the sample taken from Mr Keaveney was initially tested for alcohol. It is argued that there was a delay of three months between the time they tested it for alcohol and then for drugs and it was not in a sealed container during this period.
At Tuam District Court on Tuesday, a witness from the Medical Bureau of Road Safety (MBRS) gave evidence in relation to tests carried out on the blood sample, provided by Mr Keaveney, after he was arrested.
Olivia Johnson told Judge James Faughnan that she was familiar with the analysis carried out on the sample in question.
She said that staff at the Bureau do not have advance indications on what they are specifically testing for.
Ms Johnson detailed how the defendant’s sample had arrived at the MBRS in a sealed container.
The seal was broken to allow for access to the sample, which was found to contain no trace of alcohol, when it was first tested on June 16th 2023.
Ms Johnson said the blood was then listed for toxicology testing, in line with standard practice.
She told the court that such analysis was placed in a queue and the test for drugs was carried out sequentially and as soon as practicable.
Mr Keaveney’s solicitor, Gearoid Geraghty, asked the witness if the sample had been placed in a sealed container, before being stored for further tests.
Ms Johnson said that while this was not the case, the blood bottle was kept in a locked fridge, in a locked laboratory, to which access was restricted.
The case has now been adjourned for the ninth time to the May 10th sitting of Tuam Court when a date will be set for hearing.
