Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)

I am glad of the opportunity to contribute on this important legislation and wonder whether we can ever legislate for human behaviour. Driving is as important to people as the three Rs that were such an essential part of our education, yet this has never been recognised. Nowadays, people as young as 14 or 15 get the opportunity to drive, particularly on farms where they have quad bikes etc. and we must recognise the reality of the developments that have taken place.

In this context, there is no reason, other than failure to engage with the teaching profession, boards of management and school managers, why driver education has not become an integral part of the school curriculum from junior certificate to leaving certificate level. Pupils are as entitled to earn marks for being good, competent drivers as they are for being good at maths or Latin. I learned Latin, which was a help to me when studying law, but driving skills were as important to me.

We must face up to the reality that young driver education will cost money. We use all sorts of excuses to avoid committing to this. I have no doubt that if we engaged with school managers, the teaching profession, representatives of the TUI, the ASTI and anybody else, they would be positive towards it as many of them have sons and daughters in school. It is important we recognise that we must introduce this education, train people and inculcate good habits at an early age. This learning process should be an integral part of the curriculum, be examined and count for examination points.

The first five lessons should be provided free to pupils. We must support that idea to ensure we provide the best to our children. If pupils start right, they will finish right and will not learn bad habits. They will learn good habits early. Driver education should be an educational process. Ireland has become paternalistic and everything is now regulated. I am a lawyer, but I realise that people sometimes rebel against regulations. We must remember there are individual freedoms and try to get the driver education process right at the beginning.

The number of learner drivers driving unaccompanied is a major issue, but we can get over that problem through proper driver education. However, we must give consideration to the issue of allowing young people out on the road in 3.3 litre cars. There are no restrictions here on the type of car young people can drive. In other European countries, people under 21 or 22 years of age cannot drive powerful cars. I know young people in less powerful cars might still have accidents, but we should take into consideration the power of a 3.3 litre or 2.5 litre car compared to a 1 litre car. While the smaller car can still travel at a fast speed, it cannot attain the speeds of the more powerful cars.

We must try and tie in restrictions on the size of a car young people can drive with insurance. We must ensure that insurance companies will not insure powerful cars for people under 20 or whatever is the appropriate age. They have a role to play in this regard. Insurance companies have been doing well, particularly as a result of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board. Their profits have gone through the roof, but this is not reflected in ordinary motorists' insurance at the same level. Insurance companies are slow to publish their profits these days because they are so significant.

The public perception of legislation is that the authorities often take the soft options with regard to enforcement. For example, people often note that gardaí lie in wait with their hand-held speed detectors at 11 p.m. on good straight stretches of motorways. Why is this and who sends them out at this time? The public feel that much of the legislation we pass is a money-gathering exercise. If that is the general perception, the situation is serious. The result is that legislation does not get the respect it should.

Very few of the major accidents occur on motorways or the high grade dual carriageways throughout the country. Speed is a dangerous factor in most serious accidents, particularly on poor or minor roads. Many of these roads do not have adequate signage and markings because local authorities are not provided with adequate funding for this work. They need resources to ensure dangerous bends are brought to people's attention, proper grading is done and speed limits are implemented. In order to get people to respect the legislation we must ensure they understand we are not just taking the soft option. They must realise the regulations are for their benefit and the common good.

Detection of speed offences must, obviously, be a priority. The Garda Síochána, not the private sector, are the proper people to operate speed traps. This is a public issue and should not be delegated to private agencies such as happened with clamping. I know country people who have come to Croke Park on a Sunday, parked near The Big Tree pub and found their cars clamped on their return. These are people who only get to Dublin once in a blue moon for an all-Ireland final. People who park all around the Croke Park area find their cars clamped on these occasions. This happens because clamping has been delegated to private interests and I have received complaints from rural people about this.

Will the same happen with regard to speed detection? How can we ensure profit will not be the motive? We have much to consider with regard to this legislation. The regulations to be introduced must be circumscribed and streamlined. I favour Garda operation of speed cameras and am very concerned that detection may be put in the hands of the private sector.

We can never beat the old phrase, "Care, courtesy and consideration on the roads". This is what we were told in primary school and we were given the old blue book that contained such advice. We might be as well off doing the same and publishing a card that would explain people's role to them.

On another issue, can the Minister tell me why I can travel from Dublin to Kinnegad by motorway at 120 km/h, yet the limit is reduced to 100 km/h on the stretch of the road from Kinnegad to Mullingar? This makes no sense. The limit should be 120 km/h the whole way. People travelling on that road see no difference between one stretch of the road and the other, apart from the sign to say the speed limit is 100 km/h. A driver driving at 115 km/h in an area with a speed limit of 120 km/h who suddenly comes to an area with a limit of 100 km/h might be caught by a hand-held speed camera despite doing nothing wrong.

The regulations will provide for many things. I welcome the introduction of the Bill.

However, in many areas it could become a lawyer's paradise. I do not say that for self-gain.

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