Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests. Their presentations will assist the committee in its deliberations on the question of how the penalty points system might be improved. Each of the speakers accepted that the system is working well. As a nation, we have achieved a significant reduction in the number of deaths on the roads. We have a way to go, however. Certain measures aimed at improving the existing system will help us in that regard.

I would like to pick up on some of the points that have been made and to tease some of them out. Reference was made to the importance of retaining penalty points as an effective means of ensuring people change their behaviour while driving, rather than involving any other extraneous issues. I contend that there is an inherent flaw in the current system. If somebody responds immediately to a fixed penalty notice, he or she gets two penalty points and, in the case of a speeding offence, is required to pay a fine of €80. If somebody fails to respond within the set time, for some reason, he or she has to go to court and is automatically given four penalty points. The two-point premium that is applied in such circumstances is not linked to the person's behaviour on the road; it is linked to his or her failure to respond on time. It is really a means of ensuring the State collects its fine. The two-point premium is attached to the late payment rather than to the event that took place on the road. I will argue as part of my presentation that we should change our entire way of doing business in this regard. If someone does not respond to a fixed penalty notice within a prescribed period of time, he or she should be automatically levied with a fine and with two penalty points. There should not be a requirement to go to court. As a previous speaker said, there is no need to clog up the courts with this. That would better reflect the issues that arise in this context. Many fixed penalty notices are issued when speeding is detected by vans positioned on the side of the road. Some of the offences in question are relatively minor by comparison with those detected by a garda on patrol. There is work to be done in that respect.

Mr. Faughnan and Mr. Brett spoke about speed limits that are poorly set. Are they suggesting that local authorities should continue to have a role in that regard, in conjunction with local police? Is there is a need to look at this matter in a different way? It is clear that there are problems with it. Anecdotal information seems to suggest that detection vans tend to be placed in grey areas. We had understood they would be placed where accidents had taken place and where there is an historic recognition of the need for caution. Perhaps the delegates would like to comment on that.

I will ask a straight question about enforcement. Do the witnesses think that the reduction in the size of the Garda force is having an impact on the capacity of gardaí to carry out enforcement at the level that is needed?

I agree with the witnesses that it is not about catching people by the collar but about having high visibility. Even the introduction of the detection vans is about visibility because they are well marked and it is obvious their purpose is to check vehicle speeds. The issue of mobile telephone use was covered well in the presentations.

Witnesses talked about past behaviour, risk and trying to reduce the number of deaths on the road. Do the various organisations work with the statistics on accidents that actually take place? There is a much more detailed level of accident investigation where a death occurs on the road but has any work been done on parsing the accident statistics to identify the causes of accidents? If such data are available and could be provided to members, they would clearly indicate to us what needs to be done from a legislative perspective to further reduce the number of deaths.

Do the witnesses have a view on learner drivers who break the learner permit laws? Do they believe penalty points or some other sanction should attach to those who continue to break those laws? I am referring specifically to the requirement that a learner driver be accompanied by a full licence holder.