AN GARDA Síochána made seven arrests for drink driving and four for drug driving in Co Cork over the bank holiday weekend.

Chief Superintendent Con Cadogan, who is in charge of the North Cork and West Cork divisions, told The Echo that between Friday and yesterday in the county, seven people had been charged with drink driving and four had been charged with drug driving.

A Garda checkpoint on the M8 outside Mitchelstown, operating between 2pm and 4pm last Friday, saw one person arrested for drink driving and three arrested for driving under the influence of drugs, said Chief Supt Cadogan.

In addition, 15 vehicles were seized for having no tax or insurance over the course of the weekend.

Chief Supt Cadogan said that advances in Garda technology mean that the registration plates of vehicles approaching Garda checkpoints are automatically scanned now, and by the time the car is stopped the attending gardaí know whether or not the vehicle is taxed or insured.

“This is an advance in our technology which is doing away with false tax and insurance discs.

“Before, people were so good on computers they could do up a tax disc or an insurance disc and you wouldn’t know the difference, but now the new IT means members can read your registration number and straight away tell whether you’re taxed and insured,” said Chief Supt Cadogan.