THE move towards a significantly lowered blood-alcohol limit for driving in Ireland has inched a step closer after a major British report recommended a reduction in the amount of alcohol a driver should consume.

The report paves the way for Ireland and the North to switch simultaneously to a 50mg limit, more than a third lower than the 80mg now allowed. Drivers will scarcely be able to have a single pint before getting behind the wheel.

One of the major stumbling blocks to reform of drink-driving laws in Ireland has been the possibility of different limits on both sides of the borders. However, with the UK now determined to reduce its limit, long-standing plans in Ireland for a reduction can go ahead.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has said legislation to bring in the new limit should be introduced as quickly as possible by governments in both jurisdictions.

"The recommendation that the UK should reduce its drink limit from 80mg to 50mg means that Ireland and the UK will have a limit in keeping with the rest of the EU," said RSA chief executive Noel Brett.

"The UK report, in keeping with the Irish experience, found consistently high public support for reducing the limit and for enforcement to tackle drink-driving.

"This report means that the last two countries in the EU with a drink-drive limit of 80 are finally accepting the scientific evidence."

The report by Peter North found that hundreds of lives would be saved and thousands of injuries prevented by the reduction.