Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I welcome the initiative taken on this issue by my colleague, Deputy Olivia Mitchell, which the Minister has accepted. There is no doubt that legislation on mobile phone use is long overdue. Fine Gael is attempting to address the issue with this Bill, the practical nature of which means that people will be more likely to obey the measures it sets out.

I share the concerns expressed by my colleagues at the rising numbers of deaths on our roads and, in particular, the numbers of young people who lose their lives. There is insufficient statistical information on the causes of accidents, although there is no doubt that mobile phone use and drink and drug abuse are factors. Bad manners can also cause difficulties in some instances. Unless we collect and test for this data and collate the material we gather, we will be working in the dark in bringing legislation before the House and deciding where best to invest our resources. It is amazing that in 2006 we are still not testing for drug use on our roads. It is vital that people are tested for alcohol and drug use and that the information collected is analysed.

Members of the House face a significant difficulty in that we cannot raise issues with the NRA. While the agency is willing to meet local authorities when it wants to build a motorway through a constituency, it is not as willing when Members want to meet it to discuss various issues. A number of fatalities have occurred in Seffin in Birr town, including two in the past year alone, yet the NRA has taken no action to deal with the problem. The danger does not arise from the road surface but the speed at which drivers approach the hill at that location. More fatalities will occur if this problem is not resolved. A number of months ago, while a friend of mine was putting her child in her car which was parked in the area in question, her car door was shorn off.

I want to refer to the NRA's programme of cleaning road signs. I frequently use the N7, as does the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Michael Ahern. While I accept that wet weather and dirt can affect road conditions, there have been nights when I was unable to see the reflection on the bollards along the side of the road. As one who has witnessed an accident, I am surprised that a greater number of serious accidents do not occur along that road. Deputy Mitchell has contacted the NRA on the issue and I ask the Minister of State to do likewise.

I urge the Government to find some way to address the issue of waiting lists. The backlog is 140,000 nationally and greater than 5,200 in my constituency. I do not know whether the issue of people with sight problems has been brought to the Minister of State's attention. They can be accompanied when sitting the test but if they are not able to read, how can they learn the relevant information in advance?

An opportunity was missed two years ago to bring forward legislation on a national speed limit outside schools. The Government should intercede with local authorities to reduce speed limits in these areas.

We need to address the issue of pedestrians who do not wear reflective clothing. It should be a legal requirement to wear such clothing because the driver of a car may otherwise have to live with the consequences of an accident because he or she could not see pedestrians walking along the side of the road.

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