Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

The answer to Deputy Eamon Ryan's last point on the authority's role is "Yes". Moreover, the road safety authority will represent Ireland in Europe and will deal with technical issues. Hence, I will assign the entire gamut and remit to it from an Irish and a European perspective, in order that it will lead the debate in setting standards, both nationally and internationally, and in trying to secure higher standards throughout the European Union. This is an extremely powerful role.

Section 7 of the Bill provides a clear legislative provision that ensures that the road safety authority has a lead role in the development of strategies and measures to advance the road safety agenda. Road safety comes under the remit of different Departments and agencies. In consideration of its extremely extensive remit, the road safety authority will be in a position to engage with all those contributory bodies to develop and monitor the delivery of a comprehensive road safety programme.

In the context of "programmes" the strategy forms part of that. However, the road safety authority wants greater responsibility than simply producing a strategy. It seeks responsibility for the entire gamut of programmes and everything within them. Hence, Deputy Eamon Ryan is correct to state that the strategy forms part of that matter.

The authority will play a major role in the development of future road strategies within that context and will submit this programme for approval to the Minister of the day. It is envisaged that the programme will form the basis of the Government's road safety strategy. I also envisage that the road safety strategy will compile reports and will address policy recommendations across a range of road safety measures. I wish to return shortly to a point made by Deputy Olivia Mitchell in this respect. The authority will have a role in overseeing the implementation of the programme of the Government's road safety strategies and in that context it will regularly participate in the Cabinet sub-committee on road safety, in addition to all the other relevant statutory committees.

I suggest that it is unnecessary to make provision in the Bill that the authority should set performance indicators and measure performance against such indicators as this is implicit in its role. I do not know how it could set out a strategy if it did not set performance indicators. In addition, it must have service level agreements. Hence, this will operate both ways.

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