Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

It is important to say that the Bill is very patchy on the issue of enforcement and this lets the legislation down. The expectation of being caught is a very sizeable deterrent. As I said at the previous meeting, the issues around fake breath tests and so on have done no service to this area and there is a need to come back from that.

Like other members of the committee, I have been lobbied on this legislation but not by the large drinks companies. It was very much local lobbying on issues such as employment in the area and the impact of the legislation in that regard. It was targeted. People and businesses are entitled to make those points, but let us not ignore the fact that that is a backdrop to what has happened. We have all experienced it.

We have to make a decision in the public interest. The committee met the Road Safety Authority to discuss the issue. The statistics it provided were not dry. They were derived from inquests into fatal road accidents. I came here with an open mind. It is a big deal to put a person off the road, even if for only three months because it can be life-changing in terms of work and being able to get insurance into the future. In its responses to the committee the Road Safety Authority was very convincing. We need to focus on the evidence. I was particularly concerned about the morning after a conviction. Several people who had contacted me said they were very concerned about this being an impediment. As I have said previously, I tend to think it has more to do with home drinking than drinking in pubs and so on, but that would probably require some analysis. According to the Road Safety Authority, 14% of all alcohol related fatal crashes occur between 6 a.m. and noon and that 15% of all alcohol related fatal crashes involving a driver or motor cyclist occur between 6 a.m. and noon. This is an issue about which I had a particular concern, but the evidence must be acknowledged.

Getting legislation of this type over the line is never easy. I can remember a time when there were no drink driving limits. There is a supermarket in my area, which was previously the Hitchin Post. People used to drive there and back, but this behaviour was modified by the introduction of drink driving limits. Reducing the limits helped to save lives. If we find evidence that will further enhance road safety and saves lives, there is an obligation on us to legislate in that regard, regardless of how unpopular it makes us. I am supporting this legislation because the evidence supports it. The public attitude surveys show that people support it and that support is greater in rural than in urban areas, which is remarkable when one considers the impact it will have on people's social lives, the level of rural isolation and so on, which is better understood in rural areas because it is a lived life.

I am not satisfied with the enforcement provisions and believe there is a piece of work yet to be done in that regard, but this change will be beneficial. While it will impact on a small number of people only, if it is to have a positive impact, it will need to be enforced.