Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

I wish to share time with Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the critical matter of road safety and I commend the Fine Gael Party and Deputies O'Dowd and McEntee on bringing forward this motion that highlights the ongoing carnage on Irish roads. This motion is timely given the horrific number of road deaths in the past two weeks and the hundreds of deaths and serious injuries on our roads every year. Last week saw one of the worst days in a long time when five people were, tragically, killed. This morning an 83 year old woman was killed in a hit and run incident in Cork and a woman and her three young children are seriously injured in hospital after a collision in Cork last night.

The nation was dismayed yesterday and today at the report of the inquest into the horrific crash on the M7 in March. A young woman, Kate Moyles, tragically died and we all feel desperately sorry for her parents and her sister. It is too commonplace now to read on a daily and weekly basis in local and national media of road collisions that leave people dead or seriously maimed for life with family members plunged into grief. Notwithstanding recent reforms, such as the introduction of mandatory alcohol testing and penalty points reform, mentioned by the Minister in his speech and in the Government amendment, it is clear that greater political leadership is needed if we are to fully tackle the atrocious and unacceptable problem of road deaths and serious injuries.

Luxemburg cut its road death rate by nearly 50% between 2001 and 2006 according to the European Transport Safety Council, ETSC, performance index, PIN. An exceptionally high number of people died on roads in Luxemburg in 2001 but the drop in deaths by 2006 was achieved because the government elected in 2004 made road safety a top priority. As Christian Ginter from the Luxemburg ministry of transport said, "this reduction would not have been possible had road safety not been one of the key elements of our government's strategy". In an interview on "Morning Ireland" last week Mr. Noel Brett, chief executive of the Road Safety Authority, RSA, described how the leadership assumed by the Prime Ministers of Luxemburg and France and by President Sarkozy has been most important in drastically cutting road deaths in those states. It is clear that political leadership is required.

The establishment of the Road Safety Authority on 1 September 2006 was a very positive step and I congratulate the chairperson of the organisation, Mr. Gay Byrne, and its chief executive, Mr. Noel Brett, on the valuable work they have done. In the first year of its existence the RSA has undertaken significant reforms and implemented new measures. It has long been clear that a single agency to drive road safety was necessary to address the long standing problem of a very high level of road deaths and injuries in Ireland. That it took this Government ten years to establish the agency was an ongoing source of concern for Deputies.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Noel Brett last week for a very informative briefing and explanation of the work of the authority. The RSA has been given a long, complex list of tasks and advances have already been made in the past year, especially in the areas of driver testing, the national car test contract and co-ordinating a new road safety strategy. However, the RSA needs more support and commitment from the Minister and the Government because there are many areas in which the authority simply does not have the resources to tackle the problems involved. A clear example is the area of funding for commercial vehicle testing. There are problems relating to the safety of heavy goods vehicles and this is known because Irish HGVs are stopped on Irish roads but we pass the responsibility for testing to the English authorities.

The level of deaths and injuries represents an ongoing catastrophe and it is a sobering reality, as Deputy McHugh recently pointed out, that the number of road deaths from 1996 to 2006, at almost 4,500, significantly exceeds the number of deaths in the Troubles. According to the Garda National Traffic Bureau there were 239 collisions resulting in the deaths of 263 people this year up to 9 a.m. on 12 October. Road death statistics hide thousands of people who have been left horribly injured in collisions.

RTE News must be commended on its reports on the death toll which roll-call the names of victims and the terrible consequences for families and communities. The Sunday Independent should also be commended on its weekly series that highlights road casualties.

Fine Gael's motion refers to the European Transport Safety Council report that indicated Irish road deaths dropped by just 10.9% between 2001 and 2006. This contrasts with a 47.8% reduction in Luxemburg, a 42.3% reduction in France and a 42% reduction in Portugal. The reduction in Ireland is well below the European average. The report also indicated in its headline report, alarmingly, that the reduction in Ireland may have occurred only by chance because the numbers involved are small when compared to absolute numbers.

The RSA has estimated that random breath testing reduces road collisions by over 20% and may have saved 100 lives per annum so far. Regarding the 2007 figures, I take the point made by Mr. Brett and the Minister that it is common to assess road death statistics in terms of deaths per million of population or in terms of kilometres travelled. Ireland performs better when these scales are applied but, regardless, the headline EU road safety performance index gives the percentage change in terms of the absolute number of road casualties and in those terms I am sure the Minister will agree there is still a great deal to do.

Many factors contribute to road safety, or the lack of it. Driver behaviour is a critical element of road safety and I agree with those who say all drivers must be fully aware of their responsibilities. Deputy McHugh made a point earlier about simply lecturing young drivers. I agree we must go further and adopt innovative measures to combat speeding and strengthen the law.

Governments play a significant role in facilitating a transport environment that maximises the safest possible infrastructural conditions, vehicle and testing standards and introduces education and other enforcement initiatives to positively change driver behaviour. When one looks at the RSA figures so painstakingly collated over the period 1996-2004, it is striking that young men in the 17 to 24 and 25 to 34 age groups are massively over represented in cases of road deaths where excessive speed was a contributory factor. Dangerous driver behaviour can be targeted and reduced by effective, ongoing and properly funded measures, implementation and enforcement. The Minister's predecessor, the Minister, Deputy Cullen, called for a 25% reduction in road fatalities in the 1998 to 2003 period. He said the target should be only 300 deaths per annum. Even that is 300 deaths too many but this target is only coming into view this year.

I welcome the fact that the road safety strategy will be published in the next three weeks. Why does the strategy cover 2007 to 2012 when 2007 is almost over? The Labour Party supports the proposal to breath test all drivers involved in serious collisions. However, the final two paragraphs of the Minister's amendment seem somewhat contradictory. Is new legislation needed for compulsory testing in this area, given that it will be subject to the overriding medical circumstances?

I was the Labour Party shadow spokesman to the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, in his previous capacity and now I am the spokesperson on transport in his new Department. I wish him well in the Department, particularly in the area of road safety. I hope the Minister succeeds in reducing the numbers of deaths drastically, over however long the Government lasts. There are many transport issues to be addressed.

I agree with what Deputy O'Dowd said on signage during the Order of Business. Significant work is necessary in that regard. For example, one can enter Dublin, Cork and Galway cities and be unaware of what are the speed limits. We have had a significant debate on this issue. Should we, for example, paint the limits on the roads in front of drivers? The Minister may remember that some six or nine months ago Mr. Charlie Bird drove to Dublin from his home in south Wicklow with a camera team in the back which filmed the many drivers who were definitely breaking the speed limit because they overtook him on the way. In this regard, should the Minister not strengthen the role of the Garda Traffic Corps and ensure we see these gardaí throughout the road network.

I agree with Deputy McEntee's valid point that while the Minister may introduce new measures, he must keep up testing and invigilation. For example, when mandatory breath testing started, these tests were frequently conducted outside Dáil Éireann. Many Deputies leaving work in the evening were stopped during the early months of such testing. However, since then there have been very few such roadblocks. I commend Fine Gael and support its motion.

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