Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Members for their interest in the Bill and for dealing with the matter so promptly. It is important that the Bill be passed, as I explained in my opening contribution on Second Stage. I welcome the positive and constructive contributions made. I have been in politics for 30 years as a public representative and have spent more than 20 years in the House yet it never ceases to amaze me that roads and road policy issues usually attract the most attention, whether internally in the Fianna Fáil Party or across the House. There is always a great interest in issues relating to roads, road safety and road signage, and I know this is reflected across the House.

I take the opportunity at this early stage in my role as Minister for Transport and the Marine to acknowledge the support and interest that Members on all sides of the House have taken in road safety matters and the attempt to reduce the number of deaths, injuries and accidents on our roads. Some of the measures taken would not have been easy for any Government without the support of Members on the opposite side of the House — I acknowledge this as a general point.

The interest in roads arises largely because every Member of the House knows how important they are, not just as a means of getting about but also for Ireland's economic development and the quality of the lives of our citizens. All these issues are closely connected to the funds we invest in our national infrastructure, particularly roads. It is for that reason the Exchequer investment in Ireland's national roads is at an all-time high. More than €9.4 billion has been spent on the national roads in the past decade and another €1.5 billion will be spent this year. Throughout the period of Transport 21, from 2006 to 2015, in excess of €16 billion will be spent.

As Deputies have recognised, the Bill improves and strengthens the position of the National Roads Authority as it continues to deliver large-scale investment in our national roads. Many of the changes being made in the Bill are in recognition of the evolution of that role and the role of the many players in Ireland's road building programme since the introduction of the Roads Act in 1993.

The Bill facilitates the introduction of standardised, consistent speed limits on our major roads as well as the development of rest and service areas which will make a significant contribution to road safety. As such, it clearly takes account of the changing needs of the national roads network and the need to protect for future generations the significant investment being made in our roads. I am glad to acknowledge the positive way in which Members from all sides welcomed these provisions, which highlights the priority they attach to road safety issues.

Of course the most important aspect of the Bill is that it allows for the timely and effective introduction of barrier-free tolling on tolled national roads, in particular Dublin's M50. This will maximise the contribution of the investment being made on this vital roadway in the years ahead and will help to significantly improve the experience of motorists using Ireland's busiest road. The system will be delivered in a very ambitious but realistic timeframe. To stick to that timeframe, the passage of this Bill is extremely important and I acknowledge the co-operation received.

Several Members raised the possibility that motorists driving non-Irish registered vehicles will evade the toll. While this is undoubtedly a risk, the system being put in place will be able to record the details of non-Irish registered vehicles and every effort will be made to access home addresses for such drivers. Unfortunately, it is likely that in many cases it will not be possible to do this but that is exactly the situation we face with regard to penalty points, parking fines and so on and nobody would suggest we should not operate these systems because of the inability to punish some drivers.

The real solution to this problem, as noted by several speakers, is international co-operation. I am glad to report an expert EU group is at work on this issue under EU Directive 2004/52/EC on the interoperability of electronic fee collection systems in Europe. The NRA is represented on this group and is developing a European electronic toll system that would facilitate toll collection across EU borders. The problem adverted to by Deputies would then be largely dealt with. However, I acknowledge it is a problem which will remain for some short time.

On that matter, it is fair to state the NRA is very open to learning from best practice enforcement systems in other countries — some speakers referred to examples from the UK, Germany and elsewhere. We will consider those systems to ascertain whether the risk can be minimised. The way the London congestion charge system attempts to track down non-UK drivers was an example to which one speaker referred.

A number of Deputies understandably took the opportunity presented by the debate on the Bill to raise issues relating to a large number of individual road schemes of direct interest to them and their constituents. Obviously, it is not possible for me to respond in detail to any or all of those matters in this debate but the points raised have been noted and I will arrange for Members to receive direct answers to their queries from the NRA through the usual channel, namely, via the Oireachtas liaison office.

I wish to respond to a number of points raised during the debate which do not relate to specific projects. Deputy Finian McGrath raised an extremely important point regarding road safety, namely, the question of the personal responsibility that all of us bear to drive safely and with courtesy, and to have respect for other road users. The House could spend a year making laws and put every garda on the roads every day of the week, which would have some effect on the number of accidents and the number of people killed and injured. It is not possible, however, to do all of those things in that manner. One thing each of us can do is take personal responsibility for our driving habits and show courtesy on the roads. If we did that consistently it would have a significant effect on the number of road accidents, deaths and injuries. While speed and drink are causes of major accidents many of the minor ones are caused by sheer carelessness and lack of courtesy with people darting out in front of others, forcing them to pull up abruptly. I am sure every Deputy in the House sees this happen every day.

All Deputies should emphasise the importance of the personal responsibility message. It is easy to blame the Garda, the Minister, the National Roads Authority and everybody else but personal responsibility must be repeatedly emphasised.

The taxi service has improved. The Taxi Regulation Commission is in place to deal with complaints about overcharging and to ensure the level and standards of service are top class.

I thank all Deputies for their contributions to Second Stage. It was a useful, positive discussion on the issues encompassed in the Bill.

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