Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 7, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following: “4. Where a person is convicted of being unfit to operate a mechanically propelled vehicle as defined under the Act of 2010, the penalty points applied for this offence shall be no less than 5 penalty points, where this is the first conviction of the offence of being unfit to operate a mechanically propelled vehicle.”.

The amendment relates to the penalty point situation for people who are intoxicated. As we said, it is a serious issue in many road traffic collisions, particularly where speeding is a factor. When Professor Denis Cusack from the MBRS appeared before the committee, he made it clear that intoxication is the big factor. He also made it clear, and we have heard this from many different places, that the fear of being caught is one of the biggest impacts on all of this. In addition, the penalty needs to be more severe, particularly for first-time offenders. Campaigners in the area of road safety have also made that clear. That is the reason I tabled the amendment. As I said previously, whatever argument there may be around the reduction in speed limits, so many other issues are a factor in all of this. We should use the legislation to deal with at least some aspect of those other issues, especially in respect of penalty points. In that context, I will press the amendment.