Martin Brady (Dublin North East, Fianna Fail)

I extend my sympathy to the relatives of those who were killed on the roads in the past few years.

I thank the Minister and his predecessor, Deputy Brennan, for the various initiatives they have introduced to curtail accidents and to improve road safety. The establishment of the traffic corps was announced by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform in 2004. A dedicated management structure is in place under an assistant commissioner. By the end of 2006, more than 800 officers will be serving in the traffic corps. The planned staffing threshold for the corps of 1,200 officers will be realised by the end of 2008.

Drug testing is an issue which arises at almost every meeting one attends outside of the House and I am glad to hear the Minister has included it in one of his proposals. There is evidence that there is a large number of drivers who are under the influence of drugs and as the law stands it is a difficult issue with which to deal.

A new Road Safety Authority was established on 1 September 2006 with responsibility for a wide range of functions that have a bearing on road safety, including driver licensing and testing, road safety advertising and education, road safety research and the regulation of driver instruction. The functions of the National Safety Council are now the responsibility of the new authority. The new authority will enable a more integrated approach to road safety. In this context, I pay tribute to the former chairman of the Road Safety Authority, Mr. Eddie Shaw. I might not have always agreed with his views but I always found him helpful. Since leaving the position, he remains helpful and attends many of our meetings and conferences. I wish the current chairman, Mr. Gay Byrne, who is a constituent of mine, well in his new position.

A problem highlighted recently, at the Joint Committee on Transport and during a presentation to the Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business by an insurance company, is that there are 100,000 uninsured drivers in the country. This is a serious matter. Some of these are foreigners who have come here with what is believed is invalid insurance cover for driving in this country. In other countries the car alone is insured and there are no third parties involved. That is a matter at which we must look closely to find means of eliminating this anomaly.

When it comes to driving offences, whether drink driving, driving without insurance or whatever, people have civic responsibilities. The Garda and the Government cannot do everything for them. We are not nurse maids and we cannot sit beside the wheel and mind them everywhere they go, and people would want to start realising that.

The deployment of gardaí should be managed more efficiently with the resources available. Checkpoints, including speed checkpoints, should be visible to deter people from driving under the influence of drink and from speeding. Checkpoints should not be deployed sneakily, for instance, at a corner hidden behind a bush, merely to accumulate captures by the hundred with which to return to the station and be congratulated. That is not a good idea because we could lose the support of the community. It is important we communicate to the motorist the way the Garda is managed. It is also important we communicate to the motorists that our purpose is to curtail road deaths, that we are not just out to catch ordinary decent people going down the road 11 km/h over the speed limit, as happens to many people. Checkpoints are set up on roads on which there never has been an accident. People who have driven for 40 years are being penalised for driving at a few kilometres per hour in excess of the speed limit. The traffic corps should be better managed. Visibility on main roads and secondary roads as opposed to outside licensed premises or behind bushes or on corners is required. That would be more effective and it would not turn the community against the Garda, which will never solve our problems.

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