Mr. John Twomey:

The road safety legislation and speeding regulations are probably the most debated of our laws. One will hear various stories about what did or did not happen in certain cases. The revenue does not come to An Garda Síochána. We get no revenue from the enforcement of the Road Traffic Act; it goes to the central Exchequer. That is one myth we would like to lay to rest. We have put all the speed enforcement zones on the website.

We have also put notices at the start of every zone. The simple message we gave from the minute this project started was, “Please, slow down”. If one does not slow down in these areas, one is putting oneself and other road users at a greater risk of being killed or seriously injured. There is no more that we can do.

Unfortunately, while our compliance rates have improved and increased and the majority of road users comply with the Road Traffic Act, there are a number of people who do not. That is where the enforcement end comes in. I do not want to put anyone’s life at risk in these particular areas or anywhere on the road network. We want every driver to be responsible. The rules of the road are there for a specific reason - that we can all use the roads safely. Unfortunately, I have had the bitter experience of having to deal with families whose lives have been devastated by road traffic fatalities. It is cold comfort to them when they hear a driver say he was only a small bit over the limit.

Up to 30% of road fatalities were happening in these 700 zones. We in An Garda Síochána have to enforce the Road Traffic Act for people that will not heed the road safety messages. We advertise the zones on the website and they are constantly referred to in a variety of ways. We must protect the public. Unfortunately, for that 5% who do not listen, we have to move into the enforcement area.

I thank the Deputy for his comments on our use of social media. We have 70,000 Twitter followers, the second largest number in the public service. It gets the message out, telling people where we are so we can improve compliance. It is not about enforcement but compliance because compliance equals safety.

In every area there is a local JPC, joint policing committee, where people and local representatives can raise any local issues of concern about road safety. There are many examples where roads have been re-engineered as a consequence of safety issues raised locally, either informally with a local superintendent or through the more formal structures of the JPCs. We welcome such public engagement as we do not have all the answers and do not get it right all the time. Those who use a road day in, day out very often have a greater insight of safety issues with it.

There were several issues raised on the “Prime Time” programme which we are pursuing. All the equipment used is calibrated and is to the highest ISO standard. This information is provided to the court to support cases. All cases dismissed in court are a concern to us. We examine the issues raised in each individual case to see if it involves the detection process or the legislation and address them if we need to. Legislation changes due to issues raised. We are aware of the issues raised in Kilrush and have taken steps to address them but will continue to monitor it.