The sealing of a person's sample was 'a safeguard' but 'not a golden bullet', senior counsel Philip Sheehan told the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Photograph: PA WireA ruling quashing a man’s drink-driving conviction over issues concerning the chain of custody of his blood sample is of “huge significance”, counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has told the Supreme Court. The sealing of the sample was “a safeguard” but “not a golden bullet”, and a chain of custody evidence is necessary, he said. The statutory presumptions did not extend to the Garda chain of evidence and the sample which grounded the certificate had not been “authenticated”, he said. Judge Iseult O’Malley remarked that counsel’s client had the necessary evidence himself because he had a container with half of his blood sample.

Source: The Irish Times March 10, 2026 22:26 UTC