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

I thank our guests for their statement. Following on from some of the detail in that, our focus is on the number of people who have been killed on the roads, the huge number of collisions and the tragedies for families and communities throughout the country.

It was mentioned that speed is the big factor. We see that ourselves, as does everyone who travels the roads. Speeding happens, sometimes, because people are intoxicated or drugs are involved or whatever else. There is also erratic and reckless behaviour. We have all driven the road where somebody comes up behind us very fast, brakes hard, swings out, possibly on a corner, and passes three cars in a row. We see this on country roads, not just on motorways, and that is where many of our accidents are happening.

Two things struck me in respect of the earlier comments. One is the issue of distracted driving. The use of mobile phones is key to that. I spoke to one person who is a truck driver. As he is seated up high, he sees people in cars. He regularly sees people driving with their knees on the steering wheel while sending text messages. They are not even using their hands on the steering wheel. He said he sees this not just the odd time but regularly. He spoke to me about a particular woman going to work who was putting on her make-up while driving. People seem to have this notion that they can live a separate life and that driving is only an accidental thing they are doing, when it actually requires their full attention.

I am particularly interested in the mobile phone aspect. Is there technology that can be put in place? We all use our mobile phones at times when driving if we have hands-free kits. The phone rings, you push the button on the dashboard and you speak, but you are still concentrating while driving. We see people with their phones up to their ears, looking at their phones while driving and all of that. Is there any technology that can be easily applied to ensure that people cannot do that and we can cut that out? That is one question.

The second issue I will ask about relates to younger drivers. I am also very conscious that many of the people who are killed or seriously injured are younger drivers. I have young people in my family. I have four children, the youngest of whom is 20 years of age. All of them have driven. I know that one of them, when he was driving, had to get insurance and a box put into the car, which monitored his driving. He is the oldest in the house. He had that for the first year he drove and it made him a better driver. It meant he could not act erratically, could not speed and could not pull handbrake turns as some of his buddies were doing. They were doing that while driving their mothers' cars on their mothers' insurance. My son was shocked by it, but he could not do the same because this box was in place. His insurance was still expensive but it made him a better driver. I wonder whether, in co-operation with the insurance industry, more could be done in that respect.