Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Do the witnesses talk to councils about the roads programme and alleviating problems in high-risk areas? Youngsters drive fast, but one can put a speed restrictor into a car as easily as into a lorry and it would restrict them whether they liked it or not. I have been an advocate of this but I do not know if the delegates have done anything about it. Is there an incentive for youngsters who do a course in terms of their insurance? Youngsters are being crucified with insurance and are a target for insurance companies. The prices they are being charged give them an incentive not to have insurance, and we have to something for them, as they just do not have €3,000 or €4,000. Some insurance companies provide a certificate for youngsters who have completed a certain amount of driving, which qualifies them for lower insurance costs.

A lot of good drivers are actually off the road in this country for one simple reason. They are elderly and never had a licence from the days when they did not need a licence, something which was the reality in rural parts of Ireland. They drive a truck, car or tractor better than a person with all the licences in the world but because they were nabbed on the road for not having a licence they were put off the road, even though they had been driving for 30 years. They cannot get a licence now because many of them did not have the luxury of going to school and they are afraid to go into a van to do the test. We are pushing people outside the law who are perfectly fit to drive. Do the witnesses agree?