About MBRS

The responsibility for chemical testing of intoxicants in driving in Ireland rests with the Medical Bureau of Road Safety, which is a statutory body established in November 1968 by the Minister for Local Government under Part V of the Road Traffic Act, 1968.  The Minister’s title was altered to Minister for the Environment & Local Government 22nd July 1997.  In June 2002 the Medical Bureau of Road Safety came under the ageis of the Minister for Transport following the transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions Order 2002.

The Medical Bureau of Road Safety utilises the premises and staff provided under an agreement with University College Dublin, School of Medicine and Medical Science, Health Sciences Centre, Belfield, Dublin 4. It is the continuing policy of the Medical Bureau of Road Safety to achieve and maintain a high standard of quality in all aspects of the work of the Bureau.

The Bureau derives its finances from an Annual Grant out of the Vote for the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport. (DTTAS)

Functions:

The functions of the Bureau are laid down in the Road Traffic Acts 1968 –2016 and their regulations and they include:

• The receipt and analysis for intoxicants of specimens of blood and urine forwarded to the Bureau.

• The issue of certificates of analysis.

• The provision of equipment for the taking or provision of specimens of blood and urine.

• Approval, supply and testing of equipment or apparatus for indicating the presence of alcohol in the breath.

• Approval, supply and testing of equipment or apparatus for determining the concentration of alcohol in the breath.

• Approval, supply and testing of equipment or apparatus for determining the presence of drugs in Oral Fluid.

• Research on drinking and drugs in relation to driving, including the methods of determining the amount of alcohol or drugs in a person’s body and the epidemiology of driving under the influence of intoxicants.

Board:

The Board (including the Director) is appointed by the Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport.  The Board members are as follows:

Dr. Declan Bedford (Chairperson)

Dr. Declan Bedford has been nominated by the Irish Medical Organisation. He is a specialist in Public Health Medicine with particular interest in alcohol and road safety. A medical graduate of University College Dublin, he worked as a specialist in Public Health Medicine with the Health Service Executive (HSE) and acted as Director of Public Health in the North East for seven years until his retirement from the HSE in August 2012. He was Chairman of the Health Research Board for five years from 2012 and worked with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland as Health Systems Research and Policy Advisor for their Hospital Group for three years until 2017.

He was a Board Member of Alcohol Action Ireland. He has been a member on a number of Government Policy Groups, most recently the National Substance Misuse Strategy Group. He was also a Board Member at the Drug Treatment Centre Board and the North Eastern Health Board. His published research covers a wide range of public health topics, including suicide and mental health, alcohol, men’s health, injury prevention, infectious diseases, health services and use of hospital services. He is a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI). He Chaired the Working Group on Traffic Medicine in the RCPI for 7 years until January 2022. Dr Bedford is also a past President of the Irish Medical Organisation.

Professor Denis A. Cusack (Director & Board Member; FRCPI, FFFLM, FCLM, FCIArb, Barrister-at-Law)

Denis Cusack qualified as a medical doctor from University College Dublin in 1980 and trained in postgraduate clinical medicine in General Internal Medicine & Diabetes/Endocrinology in hospitals in Ireland and Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He qualified as Barrister-at-Law from the Kings Inns, Dublin and was called to the Bar of Ireland in 1991. He practised as Barrister in the Courts particularly in the area of medical and healthcare law. He continued clinical practice in General Internal Medicine and his medical specialty practice is Forensic and Legal Medicine. He serves as Director (Head) of the Medical Bureau of Road Safety (1997 to date). He has served in the Coroner Service of Ireland since 1992 as Deputy Coroner for Dublin (1992-1996), Coroner/Senior Coroner for the District of Kildare (1995-2022) and as Deputy Coroner for the District of Clare (2023 to date). He has held positions as Lecturer and then Full Professor of Forensic & Legal Medicine at the School of Medicine, University College Dublin (1991-2017) and at Penang Medical College, Malaysia (2000-2017). He is Full Professor Emeritus of Forensic & Legal Medicine at UCD since 2017. 

He serves as President of the European Council of Legal Medicine (2019-2023). He is Member and Vice-President (2019-2024) of the Presidium (Council) of the International Academy of Legal Medicine. He is a member of the Board of the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety (2021-2027) and of the Scientific Advisory Board at the International Criminal Court (2019 to date) and serves on a number of other expert committees. He was Founding Consultant Editor of the Medico-Legal Journal of Ireland (1995-2022) and is a Past President of the Coroners Society of Ireland (2008-2010) and Past President of the Medico-Legal Society of Ireland (2015-2017). His specialist and research interests and publications include intoxicated driving, road traffic medicine, forensic death investigation, medico-legal issues in healthcare practice, medical ethics and professionalism and clinical risk management.

Professor Patricia Fitzpatrick (Board Member; MB BCh BAO, MD, MPH, DCH, FRCPI, FFPHMI)

Professor Patricia Fitzpatrick is Full Professor of Epidemiology & Biomedical Statistics & Subject Head for Public Health, University College Dublin & Consultant in Preventative Medicine, St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin. She works as Consultant Epidemiologist & Director of Evaluation for the National Screening Service, Ireland. She is a former Dean of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland 2009-2011 and is currently on the Board of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine. She is Chair of the Steering Committee for Healthy UCD.

She conducted award-winning research with the Medical Bureau of Road Safety in 2003-2006 in relation to drugged driving with publication of a report for Government and a published article. She has recently been a member of the RCPI/Road Safety Authority Working Group on Traffic Medicine 2011-2017. She has over 125 peer reviewed published articles and has presented at numerous international and national conferences; her main areas of research are in the areas of prevention, including screening. She is a member of the Guidelines Development Group of the European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer 2015-2020. She was recipient of an award for Research Impact (UCD 2017).

Mr. Sean Quigley (Board Member; FCA, MSc OB, MSc Exec & Team Coaching, Dip in Corporate Governance)

Mr. Sean Quigley was nominated by the Minister for Transport. He is an experienced senior leader & chartered accountant with over 30 year’s experience in large public sector organisations. He is the former Director of Finance in the Courts Service and prior to that held a senior financial position in Trinity College. He has extensive experience in financial planning and budget management, as well as extensive audit experience including compliance with public sector accountability frameworks.

He also has extensive experience as a Board and Audit Committee member in different sectors. He is a member of the Board of Drinkaware as well as a member of the Audit Committees in Tallaght University Hospital and the National College of Art and Design. He is also a member of the Courts Service Investment Committee. Has expertise in compliance with the code of governance for State bodies. He holds a Professional Diploma in corporate governance. He has a track record of implementing robust risk management structures and processes.

He also has expertise in strategy development and has implemented award winning large-scale change projects. Most recently he led the development of a long-term strategic vision for the modernisation of the courts system. He has also developed and implemented learning and development strategies, including implementing a coaching culture in the use of coaching skills by managers. He is also a qualified and experience executive and team coach.

Ms. Joan O'Brien (Board Member;B.COMM., L.L.B., Solicitor)

Ms. Joan O’Brien was nominated by the Law Society of Ireland and appointed as a Member of the Medical Bureau of Road Safety by the Minister for Transport. Joan was admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in Ireland in 1994 and holds and Honours Bachelor of Commerce Degree and Honours L.L.B. Degree from University College Galway. Joan completed her Apprenticeship with a prominent Galway Firm and gained invaluable experience with both a Galway City and a Galway County Legal Practice before establishing her own Law Firm, O’Brien Solicitors, based in Oranmore, County Galway in January of 2005.

Joan has a diverse legal practice covering areas such as Commercial and Residential Conveyancing, Wills & Probate, Personal Injury Litigation, Licensing Law, Family Law and District Court Litigation with a particular interest and experience in Road Traffic Law.

Joan is a Committee Member of the Galway Solicitors Bar Association and a Committee Member of the Criminal Law Committee of the Law Society of Ireland since 2011.  

Fees:

Fees payable to Chairpersons and Members of State Bodies

The MBRS fall under Category 4 for fees payable to Chairpersons and members of non-commercial State Bodies with effect from 1 January 2010. The rates payable are €8,978 for the Chair, and €5,985 for a member. Under the One Person One Salary (OPOS) Principle, it is a requirement that public servants who sit on State Boards in an ex officio capacity or on behalf of their parent Department should not be paid remuneration in the form of board fees. Therefore, the Director does not receive payment for serving on the MBRS Board.