Mr. Ray O'Leary:

I will respond to the second part of the Deputy's question. Enforcement will be a matter for An Garda Síochána. The legislation that was introduced took account of views in regard to enforceability. My recollection is that the Deputy raised questions in a previous discussion about the enforceability of a minimum passing distance of either 1 m or 1.5 m. The legislation takes account of those views. It is important to stress that there always has been a general offence of dangerous overtaking. The question of dangerous overtaking is long established in Irish road traffic law. In the current legislation we have separated out dangerous overtaking of cyclists because they are particularly vulnerable road users who are sharing the road space with mechanically propelled vehicles, unlike pedestrians in normal circumstances, and therefore they are particularly vulnerable and there is an increased penalty in terms of the fix charged notice.

On the question of legal challenge, legislative provisions are always open to challenge by a citizen. I cannot say whether this legislation specifically will be open to challenge. In bringing forward this specific legislation, we decided that it was best to build on a long established offence in Irish road traffic law that had been tested through the courts and had been the basis of previous action by the various parties. These issues were borne in mind in bringing forward and distinguishing dangerous overtaking of a cyclist from dangerous overtaking generally.