John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)

The strange thing about road safety, unlike other issues, is that there are definite, clear and obvious ways of preventing what is happening from happening. They have been obvious for many years. The issue for Fianna Fáil is that it is getting nervous about taking people off the roads en masse. It got very nervous around local election time. It was clear that the penalty points system worked. It was clear from information from the Garda Síochána that it slowed people down. However, because the Government did not introduce any more than four out of a possible 69 categories of offences liable for penalty points, the system lost its impetus entirely. It is clear that Fianna Fáil is unpopular and it is also clear that as it goes into a general election 18 months from now, the last thing it wants to do is upset large numbers of people by taking them off the road. It is simply about politics. Fianna Fáil understands local politics better than most and understands what I have said to be true.

I disagree with some Members who spoke this evening. While it is true that increased visibility of gardaí provides a deterrent, it is not the only solution. The issue is about driver behaviour, taking a real crack at that issue and taking the necessary steps and Fianna Fáil has proven completely incapable and unwilling to take such steps time and again. This is epitomised by Mr. Eddie Shaw of the National Safety Council who said that 144 people could have been saved if the Government had taken those steps. It is obvious what those steps were. They were clear, determinate and definite but the Government has made no effort to take them over the last two or three years. All we hear is excuse after excuse. Whether it be mobile telephones or driver training, the Government has taken no concrete steps to address road safety issues.

The issue is whether Fianna Fáil is prepared to lose additional votes by implementing measures that may be very unpopular with the public. It is not prepared to do so. That is obvious.

I began my political career as a councillor in 1999 and one of the first issues I raised with the county council concerned a stretch of road, approximately four miles long. It was obvious that many people were being killed on this stretch of road. In one particular black spot, approximately 20 people had been killed over a period of 20 years, an average of one per year. Eventually, I managed to get a 60 km/h speed limit imposed. Nobody ever questioned my figures, contradicted me or said I was exaggerating or wrong. The problem was that we were reliant on the Garda for information on all of the crashes, and many minor crashes that took place on that stretch of road over 20 years were never recorded.

We have not invested in the kind of research that is needed when it comes to crashes. In many cases we do not know exactly why they are occurring. We are reliant on information from the Garda Síochána, which in many cases is not sufficient to draw up a clear picture as to what should be done, what solutions might be effective, how dangerous a particular stretch of road might be or what can be done to minimise the danger. We will not improve overall safety on the roads unless we are prepared to make an investment in that kind of scientific analysis of what causes crashes. That is the case in regard to the first point I made, about which I feel strongly. I do not believe the Minister of State is honest, forthright or realistic about dealing with the issue because he knows it will cost the Government votes in the next election if people are taken off the road en masse.

See this speech in context