Ms Moyagh Murdock:

I will go back to the point made regarding tyres. I appreciate that the Deputy said he does not know anything about tyres but this is a subject that is beginning to become more prominent for consumers.

Let me give an example, a new tyre has 8 mm of tyre thread, whereas we see part worn or second hand tyres being sold with 3 mm of tyre thread. The minimum standard is 1.6 mm. The average tyre costs €80, which equates to €12.50 per mm of tyre thread. One will pay €30 for a second hand tyre, which seems like good value but the cost is €21 per mm. One will change that part worn tyre three times before one need to change a new tyre. In simple maths, one is paying a lower price but not getting the value. It is highly suspect where such tyres come from and they are a serious road risk.

We have very good information pamphlets on the tyres, which the standards enforcement section of RSA have developed. We are working very closely with the tyre industry to get that message out. The Society of the Irish Motor Industry, SIMI, will work with us to try to raise awareness about the risks associated with the depth of tyre threads not to mention the environmental issues in regard to them. We have a concern about where the tyres come from and where they will be disposed of and we will be focusing on that in the future.

In regard to the setting of speed limits, we have seen the introduction of the new road signs on rural roads. That obviously only covers 2,000 km of roads. We cannot keep emphasising enough that speed signs are not a target but a limit and people need to drive at the appropriate speed. The Road Safety Authority does not set the speed limits. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport has issued a very comprehensive guidelines book to all local authorities in tandem with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, formerly the National Roads Authority, setting out the guidelines on how to set speed limits. We work with the Department and are on the speed limit review committee to feed back information on the role the Road Safety Authority plays in communicating and promoting awareness of new speed limits and driving at the appropriate speed. I would like to reiterate Deputy Twomey's comments on the benefit of the speed vans and by the Road Safety Authority's estimate on the number of lives saved. Approximately 27 lives would have been saved since their introduction. Even if it is only one or two lives, it makes a difference. It has been proven to be beneficial.