Ms Moyagh Murdock:

I would agree with the Deputy's point in that regard. Forensic tests and the coroner's reports into 92 deaths in County Kildare showed that 50% had traces of drugs and alcohol. There is a misconception that must be changed in that regard. There is a widespread belief that if one person in a group of people who are out together is not drinking alcohol but is smoking a joint, he or she should be the designated driver. That misconception is prevalent and we fully acknowledge that. Our responsibility is to raise awareness that drug taking is just as lethal as drinking in the context of road safety. I would fully agree with the Deputy's point in that regard.

On the issue of the recording of company cars as written-off vehicles, the Road Safety Authority hopes to introduce standards later this year for servicing, maintenance and repair shops. That will hopefully address the issue of financial write-offs being reintroduced onto the market and ensure that they are repaired to a satisfactory standard and meet all safety requirements. We will endeavour to ensure that vehicles are not on the road which have gone beyond a safe life.

On the issue of a 20 km/h speed limit in residential areas, the Road Safety Authority is on record as being very supportive of that campaign. We would agree that reducing speed has a significant impact on the safety of vulnerable road users. Last year, as the Deputy pointed out, 14 children under the age of 14 were killed on our roads. Seven of them were passengers and the other seven were pedestrians and speed was a major contributory factor. We had our annual road safety conference on 2 April, the theme of which was child safety and a number of eminent speakers raised the issue. Mr. Rod King from the UK spoke about the successful 20's Plenty for Us campaign which aims to roll out a 20 mph speed limit across all residential areas in the UK. Their target is to have that fully implemented by 2020. The debate has already started and action is happening out there and the Road Safety Authority is fully behind that campaign. Our goal is to increase significantly the number of 30 km/h zones in the first instance and local authorities have the power to this already. The Bill we are discussing today provides that local authorities can enforce speed limits around road works more effectively. Likewise, they will have the authority to implement more 20 km/h zones around residential areas.