Irish adults strongly agree with recent legislation which ensures that those caught drink driving now face an automatic driving ban, a new survey has found.

Last October, the drink-drive provisions of the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 2018 came into effect. According to these provisions, anyone caught driving with a blood alcohol concentration of between 50 and 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood will be automatically disqualified from driving for three months. They will also receive a €200 fine.

Prior to this, the same drivers would have received three penalty points and a €200 fine.

The punishment for those with a blood alcohol concentration of between 80 and 100mg remain the same - a six-month driving ban and a €400 fine.

In recent weeks, some politicians have criticised these tighter laws and the increased prevalence of Garda checkpoints on the roads, particularly morning checkpoints.

However, according to a survey of 1,001 adults, 79% of people support this new legislation.

A suggestion by one TD that breathalysers should be supplied to every home in the country was not as popular however, with just 28% supporting the idea.

The survey noted that only 5% of people already own a breathalyser, with 61% saying they do not own one because they do not need it, and 20% stating they do not drink.

Just 9% said they intended to buy a breathalyser in the future.

The survey also found that 17% of men and 12% of women think they have driven while over the limit in the last three years.

And when it comes to driving the next day, 78% of women and 81% of adults over the age of 55 are conscious about this, compared to 68% of men.

The survey was carried out earlier this month by iReach.