Ms Moyagh Murdock:

Going back to the Deputy's first point about the anomalies or gaps in the legislation, as the Deputy Commissioner mentioned, that case is under appeal with the Supreme Court. We would welcome that. It has been said multiple times that the road traffic legislation and offences under it are among the most challenged in the legal system. It is a citizen's right to make such a challenge. The length of time it takes for a case to go from detection right through to conviction can be very frustrating, with the number of adjournments and the like on each individual case. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has mentioned recently that the whole corpus of traffic Acts, which go back to 1961, will be reviewed and consolidated. It is very important that we do that. There is a new road traffic Bill practically every year and that leads to opportunities for people to challenge legislation when a new situation arises.

Where the Road Safety Authority comes into the prevention of road deaths is in raising awareness and undertaking promotional activity. We would rather not see anybody in court. We want to stop it before it gets to a court case. Unfortunately, too many of those who are appearing in court for drink driving offences are not doing so for the first time. They have probably been able to get away with certain behaviours and continue to drive when disqualified. They continue to engage in risky behaviour. We would like to prevent that. We want to see a societal and cultural change in people's attitudes. It is unacceptable now to drink and drive, but there still seems to be a societal acceptability with regard to driving when disqualified.

One of the initiatives we are hoping to introduce early next year is publication of the names of drivers who have been disqualified in a court of law. This should act as a deterrent to anyone who is contemplating doing something that will result in disqualification. Communities, society and employers will then put the pressure on individuals, which means we will not have to depend on wide-scale enforcement at every corner. It is a cultural thing which we need to change. When people are disqualified, that is it, and they need to stay off the road. The Road Safety Authority is looking at ways in which it can create that public awareness and knowledge for the future. That would act as a major deterrent to risky activity.