Noel O'Flynn (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

I remind the Leas-Cheann Comhairle that I am sharing time.

The issue of road safety is one that all too often dominates the news headlines. There is not a family in the country which has not been affected by such a tragedy at some stage. Too many of us have received the dreaded telephone call in the middle of the night. I experienced it myself and would not wish it on anybody to hear the news that a relative was injured or fatally injured. Even one death on the roads is one too many.

It is heartbreaking that so many of our young, energetic people, in particular, have been taken from us in such a cruel and painful way. The vast majority of young people take a mature and responsible approach to road safety. They are all too aware of the dangers of texting, talking on their mobiles while driving, as well as drinking and driving. Evidence from other countries suggests 60% to 70% of drivers use their mobile phones at least once a day. It has also been estimated that at any given moment 1% to 4% of drivers are using a mobile phone. I think I am correct in saying practically every young person in the country has a mobile phone, which obviously has major repercussions for road safety.

There are approximately 400,000 people with provisional driving licences. There is a considerable backlog in driving test waiting times. The Minister, Deputy Cullen, is all too aware of this and doing his utmost to speed up the system by providing more test instructors. I have great respect for Deputy Olivia Mitchell but I was astonished to hear that the Fine Gael spokesperson on transport had proposed last night that provisional drivers should be barred from driving after 5 p.m. during these short winter days.

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