The State was yesterday ordered to hand over more disclosure evidence to the defence in a number of drink-driving cases in Co Louth.
The disclosure hearing at Drogheda District Court was part of a challenge to the accuracy of the intoxilyser breath test machine.
Defence engineering expert Christopher Cuffe told the hearing it was essential they got full access to all records relating to the machine as part of a two-pronged defence strategy.
He explained that he needed to understand the working of the machine, in order to test the accuracy of results relating to mouth alcohol levels in respect of the effects of regurgitation of alcohol on the intoxilyser results.
He also said the records were needed to examine ambient alcohol levels which related to the impact alcohol in the atmosphere at the time of the test would have on the results.
Dr David Reynolds, principal analyst with the Medical Bureau of Road Safety, said the certificate of each breath test result had all the relevant information for the defence and the disclosure documents being sought were not relevant.
He stressed that the instrument would abort the test if there were any faulty results and this was proof that the system worked.
Dr Reynolds further highlighted the fact that they had an ISO accreditation and, as such, their tests were independently audited.
The defence argued they were being disadvantaged by not having access to the bureau's tests and the results of tests by service engineers, and by not knowing what was inside the machine or whether the components matched the specifications.
The court was also told that the results of tests carried out on machines in the UK were publicly available online but that was not the case here.
Judge Flann Brennan ruled that, with two exceptions, all of the documents sought by the defence must be supplied by the State.
The documents which do not have to be handed over are a copy of guidelines for engineers who service the intoxilyser machines and the log book of the intoxilyser at Drogheda Garda station.
Judge Brennan ruled the guidelines were not relevant as he had heard the copy being sought was now obsolete and was not used by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety.
He had also heard that the Garda log books were abandoned as far back as 2002.