Mr. John Wilson:

Speed is only one part of the definition of dangerous driving. Believe it or not, it is not easy to prove dangerous driving against someone who is caught speeding. There should be a specific speeding charge.

In the case of a graded system, consideration should be given to increasing the fines dramatically and the imposition of penalty points for speeding instead of the flat fee or penalty that exists at the moment. If someone was facing a €500 fine plus the imposition of ten penalty points on the licence for a single offence, it would concentrate the mind.

There is an epidemic of mobile telephone use at the moment, as committee members will appreciate. Deputy Troy referred to the driver of the lorry on the mobile telephone. I believe we are going to have to give An Garda Síochána power to seize mobile telephones at the side of the road and have them examined to prove that an individual was using the telephone. Moreover, there should be a major increase in the financial penalties for mobile telephone use as well as the imposition of penalty points. I am also in favour of bringing in an automatic disqualification for mobile telephone use. I regard it as being that serious.