Donie Cassidy (Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

For most of my life I have been travelling 60,000 miles annually all over Ireland, on inferior roads for much of the time. Most Members of the Oireachtas probably travel more than 40,000 miles annually.

It is every parent's worst fear at weekends when their sons or daughters go out for an evening that they might not come home safely. Unfortunately we occasionally see the most horrific tragedies and accidents on our roads. These accidents involve not only young people, but many others.

The Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business, of which I am the chairperson, have examined this issue with regard to the insurance inquiry. I agree with Deputy Coveney that road safety should be on the school curriculum in terms of the importance of good driving. Students should be assisted before they leave school, by whatever means the Government can offer, in order to alert them to the important issues and to the responsibility which anyone who turns a key in a car ignition and drives a car has to fellow citizens and to those travelling in the car.

In the course of our investigation for the insurance inquiry we visited New York, where we spent two and a half days with the New York police. We learned much about their techniques and methods. Regarding insurance, we noted that every police person in New York has a hand-held computer. Put to the window of a car, this shows whether insurance and all else is in order, and indicates if the person driving the car is of good character or has previous convictions. It provides a sort of character reference for the police. The police traffic corps is wholly responsible for traffic in the state of New York and would not agree that their work should under any circumstances be hired out to the public sector.

I note Deputy Howlin has arrived. He is a very valuable member of the Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business.

To our surprise, we also found in New York that with the traffic corps in action 24 hours per day, crime fell by one third in New York state, because a criminal has to get from A to B.

Mr. Eddie Shaw is a very eminent man who has given unselfishly of his time to the cause of the National Road Safety Council.

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