Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

Some 93 people have died on our roads so far this year. That is unacceptable. Our role, as public representatives, is to legislate and put in place measures that will discourage dangerous driving and eliminate fatalities on our roads.

The Bill proposed is welcome and I note that the Minister is supporting it on Second Stage. If he supports the proposal, it begs the question why he has not included the provisions of the Bill in the list of penalty point offences due to be introduced on 3 April. Nobody disputes the fact that using a mobile phone while driving impairs the driver's ability. It is distracting and downright dangerous. We have all witnessed this on many occasions, but the Minister has effectively ignored that bad practice. Those who use a mobile phone while driving are four times more likely to be involved in a serious collision.

To some degree penalty points were a deterrent, but they have lost their impact, the reason for which is that they were never properly enforced. The new package of extra penalty points is not viewed by many as a deterrent to bad drivers but as a new means of ripping off motorists and raising revenue. They are viewed by a large section of the motoring public as a cynical money-spinner. "Shooting fish in a barrel" is an accurate description of the bulk of Garda speed traps. Why do we never see them in areas where accidents have occurred, namely, on non-primary or secondary routes across the State? It appears there is no money to be gained in doing so.

What does the Minister propose to do about dangerous driving? Does he seek changes to this or other practices? He does not, rather privatisation is his answer. The vast majority of lives are lost on secondary routes. Some 40% of fatalities occur on 7% of the State's roads. If privatisation proceeds, private companies will inevitably follow the money and ignore non-primary roads, on which the bulk of fatalities occur. They will make their money on the M50 and dual carriageways, while no real measures will be applied or interest shown to deal with accident black spots.

On a related matter, the Minister has failed to reduce the numbers on driving test waiting lists, with people having to wait eight months on average to do their test. Does he have anything else up his sleeve now that his idea of outsourcing has been aborted or will his pigheaded attitude mean that more months, if not years, will be lost as he tries to reverse what is a binding agreement?

I hope the appointment of Mr. Gay Byrne to the Road Safety Authority on Monday last is not simply another public relations stunt by the Minister. Given the delay in implementing recommendations to improve road safety, I hope Mr. Byrne has not swapped one "Late Late Show" for another.

While penalty points serve a purpose, tackling road safety is a much bigger issue. Legislation is the only effective when it is enforced. Although announced in 2002, full implementation of the penalty points system has still not been achieved. To make our roads safer, the State should get young drivers on its side by using deterrents as deterrents, not as easy money makers, by reducing the extortionate insurance premia young drivers are forced to pay and, overall, by making our roads safer. Ensuring road safety is in everybody's interest.

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