Dan Wallace (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

If we are to continue our efforts to improve road safety and reduce the number of deaths on our roads, we need to approach the problem from a number of key areas. We must encourage responsibility among road users through an effective and co-ordinated education plan, continually review legislation to ensure that appropriate sanctions are in place for offences and continue our commitment to improving the roads infrastructure across the country.

Consistent studies have shown that the single biggest cause of accidents on our roads is the behaviour of road users and very often this behaviour is affected by the fact that drivers have consumed alcohol before getting behind the wheel. It is significant that the rate of deaths on our roads increases around festival times like Christmas, bank holiday weekends and especially summertime. This is one of the most dangerous periods on our roads, with an average of more than 100 people losing their lives during the three months of June, July and August. The Garda is working hard, with increased levels of enforcement in an attempt to address this problem. However, it is ultimately a matter for individual road users to make responsible decisions and to act responsibly on our roads when driving. There is now a greater awareness among people of the lethal potential of drinking and driving, but we need to continue our appeal to all drivers not to drive after they have consumed alcohol, as even one drink is likely to impair driving ability and judgment.

Drivers also need to take more responsibility for their actions in the area of speeding. Many drivers, particularly young drivers, do not accept that their behaviour behind the wheel can cause injury and death and we need a concerted campaign to encourage motorists to slow down. I am constantly alarmed that some motorists are regularly behaving recklessly and are gambling with their own lives, and in many cases the lives of their children, by not obeying the seat belt laws. The penalty point statistics show that a vast number of penalty point notices were issued to drivers who were not wearing seat belts. Every day we see parents driving with children in the rear seat without a proper child restraint system or a seat belt. This is crazy behaviour and it seems incredible that any parent would gamble with the life of his or her child in this manner. The message needs to get out that it is as unacceptable as speeding or drink driving.

The Road Safety Authority has a very important role to play in educating drivers at all levels of the importance of personal responsibility and of exercising caution when driving on our roads. In the past, we saw two different approaches to this education. On the one hand we are familiar with the hard-hitting, often graphic campaigns which highlight the consequences of collisions resulting from a range of issues. Those campaigns have an important role to play in seeking to change driver behaviour and highlighting the tragic results of dangerous and irresponsible driving. In the recent past we have also seen an advertising campaign where a different approach was adopted. It seeks to educate the road user on specific manoeuvres which are considered dangerous. This approach is beneficial to drivers at all levels, even those who consider themselves to be competent and responsible. Novice and experienced drivers should be aware of the importance of lifelong learning when it comes to road safety as none of us is too experienced to benefit from the "how to" approach which is adopted in these advertisement campaigns. The importance of the advertisement campaigns cannot be emphasised enough as a safety tool.

The second key aspect of the battle to deal with this problem revolves around appropriate sanctions for people found guilty of offences. In this regard, the Government has an impressive record in introducing new measures to tackle this problem. The penalty points system was introduced, as was a new structure of speed limits and, most recently, the Road Safety Authority was established. This Bill will allow for the adoption of a system of mandatory roadside breath-testing for drink driving with the introduction of a new legislative basis for a prohibition on the use of mobile phones while driving. I welcome the ban on the holding of a mobile phone by a person driving a motor vehicle. I am sure all Members will have seen, as I have, motorists use mobile phones while driving a car, truck or bus. It is difficult to believe that drivers take chances, sometimes in the most unsuitable places — I have even seen drivers using their mobile phones while reversing their vehicles.

I agree provision should be made to allow the Minister regulate other uses of mobile phones or other communication devices by occupants of vehicles. The legislation needs to retain flexibility so that it can respond to developments in the rapidly changing area of communications. The penalties that apply must ensure that persons realise that the use of mobile phones while driving is a very serious offence and that if they commit that offence, they will be penalised accordingly. The introduction of both of these measures, allied to the other key features of the Bill, will enhance the powers of gardaí in dealing with unacceptable behaviour by motorists while driving and will send out a further message to motorists that they are required to act responsibly at all times.

The Road Safety Strategy 2004-2006 promoted the introduction of a legislative basis for a form of random roadside breath-testing. In addition, the strategy recommended that private sector interests should be engaged in the provision and operation of equipment used in the detection of speeding offences. While I recognise the need to involve the private sector, I am concerned that the soft option may be used in detecting offenders — it is important that the Garda is involved to ensure proper use of the equipment, and at the correct locations. As an Opposition Member said yesterday, the main places accidents occur are not on motorways or bypasses, where far too often checkpoints are concentrated, but on secondary roads where the Garda needs to concentrate such operations. If the private sector is involved in these operations, I hope the Minister will ensure it will bear in mind that reality.

This is a tough Bill but, equally, it is sensible and necessary. It can be described as tough because reckless drivers who put lives at risk will face stiffer penalties. It is sensible because it frees up court and Garda time as well as paving the way for reform of the licensing regime but, most importantly, it is necessary because of the tragic loss of lives on our roads.

The third aspect of our approach to improving road safety has been the widespread improvement of the national road network and this is a critically important part of our national transport plan. It is a proven fact that accidents are less likely to happen on national primary roads, motorways and dual carriageways than on country roads. The Government's roll-out of Transport 21 will ensure we will see ongoing improvement in the overall road network throughout the country during the next few years. A sum of €1.5 billion will be invested in national roads this year, which will allow for work to start on 15 new projects, while funding has been allocated to local authorities for improvement in national roads in every county.

Another key factor in improving safety on our roads is the provision of an adequate line and sign programme. I welcome the commitment of the Minister, Deputy Cullen, to a four-year programme of upgrading road signage and clearer road markings on the country's national road network at a cost of €60 million. The programme will allow for new and improved directional signage, new tourism signage and updating of existing signage. Consistency in road signage is crucial, together with standardised road signs positioned in the right place, a key factor in making journeys safer and easier. I also welcome the allocation of €20 million for the fitting of safety barriers on all motorways and dual carriageways as these measures have proven to be crucial in reducing road deaths in circumstances where accidents occur.

Some other areas also need to be addressed if we are to seriously impact on reducing the number of deaths on our roads. We must accept that with the changing population trends here, more foreign people are living here and, consequently, driving on our roads. This is a reflection of a changing Ireland but it also presents new challenges for road safety authorities. It has not gone unnoticed that a number of tragic collisions in recent weeks in Donegal, Cork and the midlands involved migrant workers who lost their lives in particularly tragic circumstances. I am aware that the Minister recently launched a foreign language project targeting minority ethnic groups in the community, and this is a welcome start. However, we need to do much more to educate foreign nationals to ensure that they are fully aware of the type of behaviour that is expected when driving on Irish roads and to alert them to the potential dangers and the areas to watch out for when driving in Ireland.

Another area that needs attention is drug driving. We hear a great deal about the impact and consequences of drink driving, however, not enough attention is given to the impact and consequences of people driving while under the influence of drugs, sometimes illegal drugs but often prescribed drugs. We are all aware of the manner in which prescribed medication can impair one's ability to react to circumstances. The time has come for a proper appraisal of the level of fatalities caused by people driving under the influence of drugs as opposed to alcohol. This will not be an easy task but if we are serious about tackling all the causes of carnage on our roads this issue needs to be considered and addressed.

One further issue that the Minister has attempted to address, but which will certainly require further attention, is the large number of provisional drivers on the roads. I am aware the Minister recently brought forward an initiative to deal with the backlog of driving tests and the training of driving instructors. However, this is an issue that needs to remain very much on the agenda. It is unacceptable that we should tolerate a position whereby an individual can fail his or her test and then drive away from the test centre alone. A more integrated structure is called for where greater emphasis is placed on pre-test lessons with qualified instructors, with the aim of increasing the test pass rate. This will not be easy to achieve, nonetheless, we must endeavour to arrive at a position whereby there is a reduction in the number of provisional drivers on our roads and introduce a system whereby there is proper supervision of drivers until they have passed their test.

This is the sixth major legislative initiative taken in the area of road traffic in recent years. The penalty points system was introduced, as was a new system for the independent licensing of taxis, hackneys and limousines and a new structure of speed limits and, most recently, the Road Safety Authority was established. This clearly shows the commitment of the Government to deal with the unacceptable level of road deaths in the State. Sadly, many road deaths are preventable. It is the responsibility of all of us who use the roads to act responsibly. Road safety is a subject that needs to be tackled on several fronts. It is an acknowledged fact that one of the biggest challenges we face in Ireland is that road collisions are inevitable and that road deaths and injuries are part of daily life, albeit a deeply regrettable one. That need not be the case. We are all aware of the statistics, that nine out of ten road deaths in Ireland are as a result of bad driver behaviour, with speeding, drink-driving and non-wearing of seat belts the main causes of death. The Government's commitment to allocate unprecedented resources to this area means we can change the situation and leave nobody in doubt about the Government's serious attitude to road safety. The provisions of this Bill and the severity of the penalties for those found guilty of serious driving offences underline its seriousness. If we can combine the Government's commitment with increased Garda enforcement and a greater acceptance of personal responsibility on the part of drivers, these new measures will help to stamp out irresponsible and dangerous driving and so save lives. I commend the Bill to the House.

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