How Long Does It Take to Go to Court in Ireland? (Drink Driving Case Guide)

Day 1 of 10 – Facing Court in Ireland: What You Need to Know

This is part of a 10-day series answering the most common fears people have about facing court in Ireland—particularly for drink driving and road traffic cases. If you’ve been arrested, or someone close to you has, you’re in the right place.

You were arrested weeks ago.

Nothing's arrived.

No court date.

No summons.

And now you're wondering: has the whole thing just gone away?

It hasn’t. It’s just ‘hiding’.

"Not many people know this but the MBRS conduct an audit

of the results of all samples sent to them for analysis.

At some point they'll write to the Superintendent

in charge of the Garda Station

enquiring what happened your case in court"

If you gave a breath sample, the result was instant. The Evidenser printed it out, you signed it and were given a copy to take away.

Most likely the Garda charged you with drink driving handed you a court date—usually within the next three or four weeks.

But if you gave blood or urine, your sample is now sitting in the Medical Bureau of Road Safety, waiting to be tested.

You won’t be charged until the result comes back.

The result will be back within 10-14 days (the guys in the Bureau are very quick).

Then the Garda who arrested you will apply for a summons.

This routinely happens about 4-5 months after you have been arrested. That summons might not arrive on your doorstep for 3-4 months after that.

Don’t ask me why, but some Guards take their time on this. That said, some are very quick: in one case recently, the Garda had applied for the summons within a month of the arrest, or about 2 weeks after the result was posted back to him from the Bureau. Pretty sharp.

But the process typically can take months.

But you will definitely get a summons. That’s 100% guaranteed.

It’s guaranteed because if the Garda forgot to apply for a summons they’d end up being disciplined internally.

So, nobody’s going to risk that.

Not many people know this but the MBRS conduct an audit of the results of all samples sent to them for analysis.

In other words, at some point they'll write to the Superintendent in charge of the Garda Station where you were brought to enquiring what happened your case in court.

If that Superintendent can’t answer that question because the Garda who arrested you forgot to apply for your summons to prosecute you, there will be hell to pay.

So, they never forget the summons.

One man came to me after four months of silence, thinking he was in the clear.

Two weeks later, the summons arrived.

Just because it’s quiet doesn’t mean it’s over.

If conviction means disqualification—and it does—then the danger isn’t delay. It’s letting delay lull you into thinking the danger is gone.

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In the next piece, I’ll cover a surprisingly common question: “What actually happens at my first court appearance?” You’d be amazed how often people underestimate it.