Christmas crackdown urged as drug-driving cases rise in Carlow while national figures soar

Drug-driving cases brought before the courts in Carlow have risen again this year, as new figures reveal a sharp national surge that has prompted calls for a major Garda crackdown over the Christmas period.

Figures supplied by the Irish Courts Service show that 23 people appeared before Carlow District Court on drug-driving charges between January and October 2025, up from 22 cases for the full year in 2024, representing a 5% year-on-year increase.

While the rise in Carlow is relatively modest, it comes against the backdrop of a dramatic national increase. Across Ireland, 2,050 people have appeared before district courts for drug-driving offences in the first 10 months of 2025 alone, already well above the 1,499 cases recorded in the entirety of 2024.

This represents a 37% jump nationally, making 2025 the highest year on record for drug-driving prosecutions.

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The figures also show contrasting trends in neighbouring counties. In Kilkenny, 25 people have appeared before the district court this year on drug-driving charges, with overall numbers falling compared to last year.

Looking at the longer-term picture, the rise has been steep. National drug-driving cases stood at 390 in 2020, before jumping to 1,179 in 2021, 1,668 in 2022, 1,843 in 2023, and 1,499 in 2024, highlighting the sharp increase in prosecutions in recent years.

Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú described the latest figures as deeply concerning and warned that cases reaching the courts are only “the tip of the iceberg when it comes to drug driving.”

She has called for an expanded roadside drug-testing operation over the Christmas period, saying stronger enforcement is needed as traffic volumes rise on local and national roads.

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Ní Mhurchú has also proposed stricter measures for offenders, including requiring those convicted of drug driving to re-sit their driving test or complete a comprehensive driver re-education programme. She has further suggested exploring the use of modified interlock technology to detect drugs in the vehicles of repeat offenders.

“We need an expanded roadside drug testing regime this Christmas period on our roads. We also need to consider policies whereby anyone convicted of drug driving is required to re-sit their driving test or, at minimum, complete a comprehensive driver re-education programme.

“They have to get the message that they are a danger to other innocent road users,” she added.

The renewed calls come amid ongoing concern about road safety, with 170 people having lost their lives on Irish roads as of December 9, 2025, seven more than at the same point last year.