A GARDA officer has been suspended from duty after he was arrested under suspicion of drink driving.
The unnamed officer, part of a group of Garda drivers who are responsible for driving public figures in State cars, crashed a vehicle while allegedly under the influence.
According to RTÉ News, the officer was detained after he was involved in a collision on the M3 in County Meath in the early hours of Monday morning.
It is suspected that the driver was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision, and the Garda Commissioner immediately authorised his suspension as an internal inquiry began.
The officer was driving an unmarked Garda car, also known as a State car, which is used to transport high-profile figures such as senior judges, the Taoiseach and other top politicians, when he was involved in the collision.
There were no other passengers in the vehicle at the time and nobody was injured in the incident.
The inquiry will also examine whether the officer was carrying a firearm at the time of the collision, which Garda drivers are licensed to do in order to protect those they are transporting.
Gardaí from Navan Garda Station were called to the scene of the crash in the early hours of Monday morning and the officer in question was arrested at the scene on suspicion of drink-driving.
He was taken to Navan Garda Station for questioning.
Investigations continue.
