Mr. John Wilson:

I have a proposal which perhaps the Chairman might see some merit in. Road safety and driver training should be core subjects on the second level curriculum in our schools. Every second level student should have an opportunity to leave secondary school having obtained a full driving licence. That subject should also carry the same points as French, Irish, German and any other subject with a view to going on to third level education. It will encourage all students to participate and it would cut out an awful lot of the youthful bravado we see with guys trying to impress girls, for example. If driver training and road safety was a core subject on the second level curriculum it would go a long way to doing that. It is about time it happened. Young people should be able to obtain driving licences at the very earliest convenience. It might cost an awful lot of money to put in place but in the long run society will benefit.