Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Olivia Mitchell for introducing this Bill and affording the House a further opportunity to discuss road safety matters. I greatly appreciate the shared concern on all sides of the House on the level of road deaths and I am grateful to the Deputy for reflecting on road safety proposals and continuing to seek a way forward to further reduce road deaths and injuries. I note that many of the points made by the Deputy and her colleagues are not contained in the Bill. I will deal with the issues the Fine Gael Party has sought to bring forward positively. There appears to be some confusion between what is contained in the Act that was recently passed and what is being proposed in the Bill.

I must oppose the Bill on the basis that some of the proposals are already provided for in legislation, while others are either premature or inappropriate. Our focus over the coming months should remain on the increased enforcement efforts which we have witnessed and the development of a new road safety strategy for the period beyond 2006.

I will go into more detail on the specific proposals being debated, but first I wish to outline broadly the current road safety situation. Looking at data for the years since the introduction of the first road safety strategy in 1998, it is clear that there has been a measurable decrease in road deaths compared with the preceding years. However, having reached a 40-year low in the level of road deaths in 2003, we subsequently found ourselves, unfortunately, with an increasing number of deaths. We experienced 396 road deaths in 2005. The trend in 2006 indicated further increases in the level of road deaths until August this year when we experienced a sharp reduction in the number of road deaths.

Mandatory alcohol testing, MAT, checkpoints, as provided for in the Road Traffic Act 2006, came into operation at the end of July and have been working effectively since then. While it is important not to draw conclusions from short time periods, to date, the introduction of MAT checkpoints appears to have had a significant impact on the level of road deaths. The number of road deaths in August, at 17, was the lowest level for any single month since November 1999 and, as of 16 October 2006, the number of road deaths is 19 lower, at 291, than the same date last year. This represents a significant improvement on the situation earlier in the year when we were witnessing levels of road deaths which were between 18 and 21 higher than the same date in the previous year. The increased levels of enforcement are having a significant deterrent effect on those who would otherwise drink and drive.

This is the first Government to have a dedicated national road safety strategy. For the first time, road safety planning and initiatives have been placed within a distinct policy framework. That framework features a set of specific unified goals based on the delivery of progress across a range of areas. The adoption of this more strategic approach was pursued against the realisation that the persistent growth in vehicle numbers and negative trends in road casualties required a concerted and integrated response.

The primary target of the existing road safety strategy is to reduce road deaths to no more than 300 by the end of this year. It is now clear that achievement of this target is not possible, given that road deaths to date stand at 291. However, recent downward trends are encouraging and we are working towards maintaining this trend through the continued implementation of the key initiatives outlined in the strategy that are aimed at achieving reductions in deaths and injuries.

In April, the penalty points system was extended from five offences to a total of 35 offences. The focus of the extension was on offences relating to driver behaviour which is the greatest cause of road collisions. Since September of this year, penalty points and fixed charges apply to the offence of driving while holding a mobile phone. Furthermore, a dedicated traffic corps has been established by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and will comprise 1,200 traffic corps officers by 2008. This is over twice the number of gardaí involved in traffic duties prior to the establishment of the traffic corps, and will result in a significantly increased deterrent effect due to increased levels of enforcement. A revised speed limit structure expressed in metric values was introduced in January 2005. The changeover went very smoothly and represents a good example of both national and local authorities working together with a common aim.

I accept the point made by many speakers regarding the differentiation in speed limits. Local authorities have not been to the fore in making sure their by-laws are correct. This is a concern to me. I have encountered many examples of good roads with a low speed limit of 80 km/h and country lanes with speed limits of 100 km/h. It is for local authorities to deal with this issue, it is not a matter for central Government. It is quite clear that the powers——

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