Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

The reason it can be brought into the debate is that every day I start my work in Tallaght where people talk to me about issues, including road traffic accidents, as I go about my business. In addition, the constituency I represent, Dublin South-West, includes Tallaght, the third largest population centre in the country. It is good that all Deputies bring to their work in the House their own experiences.

In supporting this important Government Bill I express my support for the Minister for Transport, Deputy Cullen, in his endeavours which have, in the past three months, delivered the Road Safety Authority Act 2006 and the Road Traffic Bill 2006, both of which promote road safety. I ask the Minister of State to convey my good wishes to the Minister whose work is welcomed by members of the public.

Without wishing to upset Deputy Olivia Mitchell again, on my walkabouts in my constituency and during my weekly clinics in Tallaght, Templeogue, Greenhills and Firhouse, an area she represented until recently, I note people have a strong interest in road safety. I share the widespread concern about the unacceptably high level of deaths and injuries on our roads.

All Deputies can bring their personal experiences to this debate. I have been lucky while driving, apart from being involved in a crash in 1981 in Clara, the home village of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen. Although not a serious accident, the memory of it has stuck with me for 25 years. Like other colleagues, I have considerable experience of friends, neighbours and family members being killed in road traffic accidents. A couple of weeks ago my family celebrated the life of an aunt of mine who was killed by a car outside RTE in Donnybrook 30 years ago. I mention this because it highlights the fact that people remember and talk about road traffic accidents regardless of how long ago they occurred.

Many tragedies have occurred in all our communities and Deputies will be able to relate personal stories of people being killed or injured on the roads. They may remember a particularly sad accident involving a mother and child, Pamela and Thomas Boylan, from my parish of Fettercairn who were killed in a crash in Blessington. Such incidents bring home to us all the importance of vigilance on the roads. Members will also note from visiting homes to sympathise with families bereaved by road traffic accidents that such deaths affect the wider community. It is good that the House records this.

I welcome the statement by the Minister for Transport that the key determinant of road safety performance is the behaviour of road users. Positively influencing such behaviour should form the primary focus of our road safety strategies. To this end, the Minister's proposals to clear the unacceptable backlog in driver tests, regulate the driving instruction sector and driving tests for motorcyclists and the subsequent reform of the driving licence system are necessary and urgent.

The purpose of the Bill is to enable the delivery of the remaining outstanding initiatives identified in the road safety strategy approach. It seeks to adopt a system of mandatory roadside breath-testing for drink-driving, introduces an administrative alternative to a court hearing for certain drink-driving offences and a new basis for a prohibition on the use of mobile telephones, allows for the engagement of private sector interests in the provision and operation of safety equipment and promotes a range of initiatives relating to driver formation. I welcome the fact that all these issues stem directly from commitments given in the road safety strategy.

Before I was interrupted, I had intended to compliment Deputies on the Opposition benches, particularly Deputy Olivia Mitchell, on their work, and I do so now. Speakers referred to the role of education in dealing with the issue of road safety. It is easy to argue that a great deal of this work should be done in schools. We should encourage schools to transmit to pupils a positive road safety message. I still remember a bygone era in Dublin when horses and trams were used for transport and I travelled from Crumlin to my school in Clarendon Street. Although I cannot recall some events which occurred yesterday, I remember, even then, that teachers told students to be careful going home. In those days, one travelled on one's own or was brought to school by an older child who lived on the same road. I still remember the lessons we were given on being careful, even though Dublin was completely different then. It is important to promote a positive road safety message among young people.

I will not dwell on the issue of alcohol abuse because it was discussed in detail by other speakers. People out enjoying themselves are not always happy about the vigilance shown by the Garda in this regard but it is important that gardaí continue to make a major effort to ensure people are safe on our roads. This not only relates to those who get behind the wheel or mount a bike while under the influence of alcohol but the danger they will cause to other people.

With regard to mandatory testing, like all Members, I am fully aware that drinking and driving is recognised as one of the most serious contributory factors in road collisions. Evidence shows that the problem is worsening in younger age groups. Despite much publicity and targeted campaigns, some drivers are not willing to change their behaviour. The number of deaths on our roads will not decrease unless strong measures are introduced and enforced to bring about the necessary change in attitudes.

I note the Minister confirmed that mandatory alcohol testing has been the subject of lengthy consideration and consultation, including significant engagement by the Office of the Attorney General, supported by independent legal advice. I hope this section will discourage the rampant attempts by drivers found to have excess alcohol in their systems to take advantage of legal loopholes to avoid the consequences of their actions.

All sides in this House agree on the need to introduce an immediate ban on the use of hand held mobile telephones while driving. This Bill provides specific responses to the concerns of the Oireachtas about mobile telephones and other equipment by providing for a ban on the holding of a mobile telephone by a person while driving a motor vehicle. It also provides that the Minister may regulate for mobile telephone use generally, as well as other in-vehicle technologies of an information, communication or entertainment nature, for the purpose of preventing driver distraction arising from the inappropriate use of such technologies. Given the pace and scale of innovation in these technologies, it is sensible and necessary to confer such enabling powers on the Minister. In addition to a maximum fine of €2,000, the commission of an offence of holding a mobile telephone while driving will attract the endorsement of four penalty points on conviction, which will serve to demonstrate the Government means business on this vital aspect of driver behaviour. I urge the Minister to engage with mobile network operators on a publicity campaign to encourage all car users to fit car kits in advance of the introduction of the regulations. God knows what people will be using in 50 years. As Members can attest, mobile telephones can be a nuisance but they are a fact of life.

I support the provisions on driver licensing, which include the introduction of a learner permit to replace the provisional licence and a requirement that learner drivers undergo a formal course of instruction. The lessons given by parents and siblings have a role to play in learning to drive but it is essential that learner drivers take a set minimum number of formal lessons before taking the test. I encourage the Minister to consider a system involving the private sector along with the existing public testing system so all current provisional licence holders can be tested as soon as possible.

I failed the driving test when I first took it and am not sure whether I passed it on my second attempt. That failure caused me a lot of bother and grief. I eventually passed my test on the north side of the city, which is probably why it took me so long to do so.

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