14 rail workers fail drug tests

AS many as 30 Irish Rail contractors failed a random drug and alcohol test over the past three years, figures show.

Last year alone, 181 contractors – who do vital jobs such as maintenance and structural works – were tested and 12 gave a positive sample, meaning they failed the test.

By comparison, 226 directly employed Irish Rail workers were tested, but only two had substances in their systems.

Overall this brought the number who failed drink and drugs tests last year to 14.

A spokesman for Irish Rail said it has a ‘zero-tolerance policy towards drug and alcohol use’, adding that it was concerned about the significantly higher number of positive tests among contractors. The firm took steps to slash the number of positive tests such as pre-deployment testing during track safety programmes and working to raise awareness around the importance of zero tolerance to drugs and alcohol.

It also increased the number of tests carried out on contractors, with this figure jumping from 85 in 2016 to 181 in 2018.

A spokesman said: ‘While the percentage of positive tests among contractors reduced significantly as we increased the number of tests, it is still a significant differential to our own employees. This will continue to be an area of priority for us to address and reduce with our contractors.’

Last year 226 direct employees were tested, while 193 and 183 were tested in 2017 and 2016 respectively. In 2018, two employees were found to have substances in their systems, compared to three and one in 2017 and 2016 respectively.

Under Irish Rail’s drug and alcohol policy, the firm carries out random drug tests on 5% of employees every year.

Any employee who fails a random test faces a disciplinary process up to and including the sack. Contractors who test positive are banned from Irish Rail contracts; other measures are a matter for their employers.