Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister acknowledged that two key vacancies on the board of RSA remain unfilled. When will they be filled?

I would appreciate if the Minister could come back to me with the details I have requested about the number of fatalities linked to alcohol in the system and the level of alcohol was in the system. I accept that he cannot furnish that today.

My colleague, Senator O'Mahony, talked about summonses going out. I think that when a fixed penalty notice is issued it should be done by registered post. In that way there could be no ambiguity over whether it arrived. When it is issued by registered post someone has to sign for it. There is a traceability factor through the post office to ensure that someone has signed for it, so they cannot turn up to court and say: "I didn't get it. It was never delivered." An Post has a 93% success rate in turning mail around, but post sometimes goes missing given the volumes involved. However, registered post is one way of ensuring that people would receive their fixed penalty notices.

The publication of disqualified drivers is welcome. I understand that the RSA requested it last year. I submitted an amendment to the Road Traffic Bill which would have given effect to that, but it was not accepted. I am glad that is coming down the track now.

Drink driving legislation comes under the Minister's aegis and something needs to be done to support public transport in rural Ireland. I know that buses will not be going through every rural town or village at night time or at weekends, but we need to be innovative in how we approach this matter. A person in receipt of social welfare might retain that payment if they provided a transport service for a certain number of nights during the week, if there was an incentive through the local enterprise office to help with public liability insurance. The Minister is right to say that we need to take this issue seriously, but we also need to put in other supports. My colleague, Deputy O'Keeffe, mentioned isolation, mental health and loneliness which cannot be ignored.

Has the Department undertaken any research on what level of support could be provided to help people who historically may have come out in the evening to have a couple of drinks? We realise that is no longer acceptable, but what is being done to support such people?