Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)

I support this worthwhile Bill introduced by Fine Gael. I understand the Minister is accepting the proposal. If so, it makes one wonder why he has not introduced such a proposal before now.

That brings me to the wider question of road safety and why the Government has not tackled the problem effectively over a number of years. It is not rocket science. One need not reinvent the wheel to deal with it properly. Other countries have already done so. Britain, parts of Australia and some of the Nordic countries have good road safety legislation and measures. We could have learned from those countries before now.

It is widely accepted that the three Es — education, engineering and enforcement — if implemented, form the basis for good road safety measures and reducing the number of road traffic accidents. Education includes, for instance, the introduction of road safety to the curriculum of secondary schools, in particular, possibly in transition year. It also includes reducing the number of provisional licence holders, of which there are over 130,000, many of whom are waiting 12 months for a driving test. Obviously, that is a matter which must be tackled. Engineering includes road surfaces and also such matters as the mechanics of cars and mechanisms to over-ride and reduce the speed of cars to the maximum speed limits permitted. On enforcement, as many Deputies have stated, visual enforcement by gardaí is vitally important.

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