Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for a very comprehensive opening statement. I do not think I ever got a 37-page briefing before from a Minister for an opening statement so I thank him for that. All of the information on road safety is very welcome. I am around long enough to remember when Seamus Brennan introduced the start of penalty points with just three offences, and there was huge reluctance at the time by the Department and by people asking, “Are you sure, Minister?”, and all that kind of thing. That massively reduced the number of road deaths, although every road death is one too many. I welcome all the measures on road safety in the Bill, particularly the really basic stuff that we would have thought had been done before. For example, ensuring points automatically go on the driving licence, linking cars to driving licences and the measures on the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland and uninsured drivers are all very welcome.

There are a couple of points that have not been touched on by other contributors. One is a concept that applies in other countries. I understand there is a project on the M7-M8 in regard to average speed, so the system knows if a driver is clocked at the Red Cow at 2:30 p.m. and is at the Jack Lynch tunnel within a certain time. I know people can beat the system if they want by stopping somewhere along the way. However, if there were decent gaps along the way, it would mean it is not necessarily just a camera here or there and that, over a reasonable distance, people would be clocked and, if they are going too fast, it would be picked up. Is there any progress on that kind of project?