Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I shall go backwards and deal with Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív's questions first. I thank him for his reasoned and eloquent explanation of the views he and many people in rural Ireland hold. His comments were representative of the views of other's. I am not saying he is pleading for it, but we cannot make a different law for rural Ireland than for urban Ireland. I do not see that as a possibility or probability, nor would it be right to do so.

The Deputy was correct to refer to the carnage on the roads. Carnage is one, two or three deaths. What is important in the Bill, apart from its detail which is critical, is that it sends the message that we are serious about tackling drink driving. While the Bill, rightly, affects the 50-80 mg group that is its target, the message must also go out that we will not tolerate drink driving. People take disqualification more seriously than penalty points because it has a more dramatic effect on their lives. Consequently, it will deter them. It is a heavy price to pay, but it is not the price paid people who are killed. That is why it is worth paying.

To respond to Deputy Catherine Murphy's point, all of the evidence from rural Ireland is subjective, whereas we are discussing independent evidence provided by the Road Safety Authority and, as far as I know, in the survey conducted by Behaviour & Attitudes. The evidence is that people living in rural Ireland want such measures. The evidence is clear that more lives are lost in rural Ireland than in urban Ireland as a result of drink driving. There is sometimes an extraordinary mismatch between the advocates for rural Ireland and the cold statistics provided by such surveys which are scientific. I am not sure what is happening, as I do not believe people living in rural Ireland are up in arms on this issue. Being disqualified affects people badly, but there are more people in rural Ireland who have been bereaved and support the introduction of such a Bill. We, in this House, may have created something of a false divide.