Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Tragically it is mostly young people who are involved in the accidents taking place. Obviously we should aim to encourage anything that schools can do to support young people in learning about responsibility, self-protection and care. I also see great potential within the transition year, with perhaps a structured modularised programme covering the rules of the road. Simulated driving experience may not be possible as the equipment can be very expensive. Values, respect and responsibility are just as important in this regard. We should not lightly cast away age appropriate behaviour. The role of SPHE is important in this regard, starting from a very early age with the child walking on the street or crossing the road and building up to being the passenger in a car and the responsibilities that passengers have for their own protection. In one tragic accident recently some young people were killed. However, three other young people had refused to get into the car. They took responsibility for at least their own lives. There is much we can do in this regard.

I accept that some parents maintain that this should all be taught in school. However, those same parents are buying cars for their 17 year old children. They would be far better employed putting the money into driving lessons before buying the car. There seems to be a lack of balance between the expenditure and the accompanying responsibility. It behoves all of us to do this. My one difficulty with transition year is that not all schools offer the option. However, the SPHE programme at senior level is now being devised by the curriculum council, which will include an extension of the programme up to junior cycle. It can be tackled in a broader curricular way but I would like it to be more structured in transition year. A great deal of research demonstrates that young people do not apply what they learn at school when they leave. They have a positive attitude about responsibility on the road, yet, in a survey in 2001, they also said it was safe to speed in certain circumstances. One must consider their age before striking a balance.

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