Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I may have been late in coming here, but I have watched all of the proceedings in the last 20 minutes. First, I take serious issue with the Minister's comment that there was filibustering on this issue in the Dáil. It is a false accusation. The Minister is like a dog with a bone. Before Christmas 2015 there was a spike in the number of road fatalities and without due investigation and a proper examination, he jumped straightaway to increase fines for those found to be above the lower drink limits. The committee engaged in the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill nearly 12 months ago. I remind it that the former Chairman, now a Minister of State at the Minister's Department, produced a report which was inconclusive on whether this amendment to the Road Traffic Act was necessary. Also in support of my argument, in the Minister's deliberations 12 months ago he stated the reason he was introducing the increased penalties was the system was being abused. At the same time, however, when I tabled parliamentary questions to the Minister for Justice and Equality on the issue of repeat offenders, no figures were available in respect of this section which we are being asked to amend to increase the penalties.

Deputy Robert Troy is correct when he says the Minister is trying to pick the fruit from the lower branches of the tree and that he is not assessing the entire issue. What has the Minister been doing about the flaws in existing road traffic legislation dating back to the 1960s? We saw a programme - it might have been a "Prime Time" programme - which showed that people caught driving while excessively over the limit had been able to walk out of the court because of flaws in the Road Traffic Act. What are we doing about this? Why are we not bundling that legislation? Nothing is being done about it. I refer to some of my colleagues who asked questions about this issue in the Dáil. At the end of the day, we have to acknowledge that in 2015 there was an upturn in the economy, but there was a smaller Garda presence. I bet that tomorrow morning, because of the extra Garda presence, the existing legislation would be shown to be working perfectly. I refer to a well known traffic expert referring to other legislation. He asked why we needed more legislation when we could just enforce existing legislation. That is the kernel of the point being made.

The Minister has become like a dog with a bone on this issue. We must not forget the impact this legislation will have on rural Ireland. The Minister can come here with gimmicks such as tax incentives, rural transport initiatives and measures to increase the provision of taxis - he has also talked about insurance - but no one from any organisation is coming forward to say the Bill will work and that it is a solution. The Minister is going down the wrong track. There is no need for this legislation. We have already discussed the issue and are wasting more time here. The Minister has to be fair; take his beating on this one and focus on other major issues in the transport network which need to be resolved. Where was his reaction when there were two fatalities before Christmas at dangerous junctions on national primary roads? There was no sign of him. Even with regard to the number of cyclist fatalities----