Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I agree with the Deputy, but I cannot go around personally and sit at every council meeting. I have asked the councils to address the issue. It is reasonable to suggest to the two parties opposite which control most of the councils that they should talk to their colleagues about making sure this issue is put on the agenda of council meetings and to ensure that the matter is addressed. I am heartened by a number of local authorities that have recently contacted me to say they have got their act together and are dealing with this issue. I want every single local authority to take road safety as seriously as Members on all sides of the House are doing.

In terms of legislative proposals, I have enacted significant provisions in recent months and I have delivered on the key issues outstanding in the Road Safety Strategy 2004-2006, including the introduction of mandatory alcohol testing checkpoints, a ban on holding a mobile phone while driving, and the provision providing for the outsourcing of speed cameras. Furthermore, I introduced proposals within the past two weeks which have strengthened drink driving provisions and improved the enforcement of drink driving legislation generally. These relate to a proposal to take away the necessity in a Garda station for a garda to form an opinion that a person has consumed an intoxicant in advance of administering an evidential test and a proposal to provide that nurses can take blood or urine samples at a Garda station. A typographical error which unfortunately occurred in the Road Traffic Act 2006 has also been corrected.

A high level group on road safety with representatives from various Departments and agencies worked for some time to promote full co-operation on cross-cutting issues and an integrated approach in the development of the road safety strategy and the monitoring and implementation of that strategy. In a signal, however, that road safety is now at the top of the political agenda, the Government earlier this year replaced the officials' high level group with a ministerial committee on road safety under my chairmanship and including the Ministers for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Finance, Health and Children, Education and Science and the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Attorney General. This committee has met on a number of occasions to pursue an integrated approach on all cross-cutting issues.

A significant element in the advancement of the road safety agenda is the establishment of the Road Safety Authority. The authority was established on the 1 September 2006 and has taken responsibility for a wide range of functions which have a bearing on road safety. The authority is in a unique position to co-ordinate and advance the road safety agenda as it has responsibility for the testing of drivers and vehicles, oversight of the driver licensing system, driver education and the promotion of awareness of road safety in general. The authority has a significant advisory role to the Minister in the development of road safety policy. In particular, the Road Safety Authority is charged with preparing future road safety strategies for the Government's approval.

To facilitate the Road Safety Authority in carrying out its role, the functions that have transferred to the authority include the functions of the National Safety Council in regard to the promotion of education and awareness of road safety. The authority also has a general duty to "promote the development and improvement of driving standards". It is most appropriate that the educational brief of the NSC, together with its brief for the promotion of road safety, be assigned to the authority.

In the road haulage sector the RSA has responsibility for the functions formerly exercised by my Department in regard to drivers' hours and rest periods, including the tachograph, the working time directive for mobile workers in the road transport sector and the implementation of EU requirements in regard to bus and lorry driver vocational training. In addition, the authority will enforce the relevant regulations in these areas as well as the conditions applying to licensed road haulage operators. Responsibility for implementing new requirements under EU directives on professional driver training in this area has also been assigned to the new authority.

In addition to vehicle testing transferring to the authority, other functions relating to the standards that apply to vehicles sold or used in Ireland, as required by EU directives, and all related matters are now the responsibility of the authority. Work in this area includes EU vehicle type approval law, standards for in-service vehicles, commercial vehicle testing and oversight of the NCT.

All the activities of the authority have a bearing on road safety and the broad range of functions now assigned to the authority will enhance the effectiveness of the authority in contributing to an improvement in road safety. While the authority will have a significant input into road safety through driver training and testing and vehicle testing, it will also take responsibility for the road research element of the NRA, which researches road accidents etc.

The authority will also analyse the causes of road accidents, evaluate what action might be taken and make appropriate recommendations where necessary. This will result in the more integrated approach to road safety policy that we have all wanted, with one agency responsible for road safety research — I acknowledge this was not the case, but I am glad to have corrected the position — statistical data, advertising, education and recommendations regarding road safety policy. However, the investigation of individual collisions is a function that must remain with the Garda, given its role in instigating criminal proceedings against a person who it considers has committed an offence.

The Bill introduced by Deputy Olivia Mitchell contains a number of proposals. It seeks to create a mandatory disqualification for dangerous driving, provide for mandatory breath testing of drivers at the scene of road accidents, provide the Minister for Transport with the power to regulate for drug testing and index road traffic fines to inflation to replace the current system whereby fines can only be increased by new legislation. The Bill also proposes that injured parties or relatives are notified when a disqualified motorist seeks an early return of his or her licence. Due to the Road Traffic Act 2006, a motorist who has been disqualified from driving can apply to have his or her licence returned halfway through the penalty period, but this Bill would impose a number of restrictions on this mechanism.

I want to outline the existing provisions relating to dangerous driving before discussing Deputy Olivia Mitchell's proposals. A member of the Garda Síochána who suspects someone of dangerous driving can arrest that person without a warrant. A person convicted of dangerous driving causing death or serious bodily harm can be liable for penal servitude of up to ten years or, at the discretion of the court, a fine of up to €15,000 or both. Where death or serious bodily harm occurs, the convicted person also faces mandatory disqualification for two years for a first offence and four years for a second or subsequent offence.

In any case of dangerous driving where death or serious bodily harm does not occur, a fine of up €2,500 can be imposed or, at the discretion of the court, imprisonment for up to six months or both. A person convicted of a first offence of dangerous driving where death or serious bodily harm did not occur shall face disqualification from driving for one year. For a second or subsequent offence, the period is two years.

However, in the case of a first offence of dangerous driving where death or serious injury did not occur and where the court is satisfied that a special reason has been proven by the convicted person, the court has the option to decline to make a consequential disqualification order or to specify a period of disqualification in the disqualification order of less than one year. While this fact passed the notice of some Members, the Deputy should know that this option will shortly no longer be available when a provision in the 2006 Act is commenced after consultation with the Courts Service.

Where a person has been convicted of dangerous driving, we have already provided that it will be mandatory for the court to impose disqualification of the person's licence. However, there are many categories of dangerous driving and I have serious concerns about removing from the courts any discretion in this regard. We are discussing the issue with the Courts Service, but it is only a matter of commencing the section. Someone's life, family or livelihood could be destroyed by a dangerous driving offence that did not involve drinking or killing or harming a person. Removing the discretion that allows courts to examine particular circumstances is a significant step.

While I do not want to discuss recent cases, I agree that the case in question took everyone by surprise. It was clear in the legislation that the intent of the Oireachtas was to disqualify the licence in that instance. Removing discretion in all circumstances would be a considerable matter, but the measure is provided for in the 2006 Act. That section in the Bill——

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