Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Commissioner Harris for attending. I will contribute first, followed by other members.

This is one of the most important meetings we have ever had because we are dealing with life and death, literally. Of course, we sometimes forget about serious injury. We tend to focus on the number of road deaths, maybe not taking into account people who have been injured. The National Rehabilitation Hospital on Rochestown Avenue is not too far from where I am. I know people there who have had life-changing injuries, which are very traumatic for them and their family members, loved ones, friends and so on.

We have discussed with the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner Hilman, the Road Safety Authority and others many times that the four most common characteristics of accidents are younger people, weekends, night-time and rural roads. We have a lot of rural roads. With the best will in the world, we could probably quadruple or multiply the number of people in roads policing by ten and we would never cover every rural road.

Not to take away from everything An Garda Síochána is doing, I wonder what potential technological advances are available. Do we see technology in cars tracking drivers' behaviour and seeing what they are up to? I know some insurance companies have done that. Does that have a role to play in what An Garda Síochána is doing? With the best will in the world, gardaí cannot be everywhere all the time.