Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)

It is great to know that shaking a hand on a deal still stands. I congratulate Susan Gray and all the members of PARC for ensuring this policy was announced by the Minister. Fifteen months ago, Fine Gael announced a simple six-point plan, part of which involved the setting up of an investigation unit to investigate every accident location so people would understand on the conclusion of the investigation why their loved ones died. It is good to know that if someone is killed or injured in an accident, we will now know whether it is drink related. The Government has yet to tackle other issues. I hope it does not take another 15 months for it to act on them.

Do people realise that we have had six great months this year in terms of road deaths? There was a massive campaign, which had the support of every party, to cut the number of road deaths. We backed everything the Government has done in this regard. Last year I found it frustrating that any measure we came up with was shot down, which is the reason I want to push forward one or two more. There has been a 36% increase in road deaths in the past two months in comparison to last year. In the past four months, 116 people were killed on our roads compared to 111 in the previous four months. Those are Garda Síochána figures. We must ask ourselves what has happened in the past four months. Has the campaign gone dry or, as another speaker rightly said about the young boy racers who are being killed and who are more noticeable on our roads in the past two or three months in every parish — I see them in my parish — have we lost the fight or are we losing the momentum? Susan Gray has performed a good job in ensuring that one aspect of this has taken place.

I was not here yesterday because I had given a commitment to go to Donegal, as I did last year, to witness a show that was put on by the road safety working group in Donegal, which consisted of representatives of every aspect of road safety, the Road Safety Authority, AXA Insurance, Eamon Browne, a fantastic road safety officer in Donegal, and the members of the council from all parties. Approximately 1,500 17 year old students and their teachers witnessed a live show on what has happened in Donegal and in every county. A doctor spoke about what he had witnessed. Representatives of the Garda Síochána and the ambulance drivers outlined their experience of having to inform parents that their child was dead. At the end of the show a mother who lost her daughter spoke and, finally, a young man who survived an accident caused by speed — there is a picture of him in today's newspaper — came out in a wheelchair and pleaded with the young people never to drink and drive, speed or get into a car with somebody without putting on their safety belt. Three shows were put on for 1,500 students from throughout Donegal in a fantastic new leisure centre in Letterkenny, which I would love to see in every county in Ireland. One by one those students walked out in silence when the show was over.

I ask the Ministers opposite to ask theMinisters for Transport and Education andScience to get a copy of the video of that show and send it to every school, particularly so that 17 and 18 year old students will see it. My motto on road safety is simple, educate and implement the law. I was happy to hear previous speakers talk about education. The one measure Fine Gael wants implemented, to follow on from what the Ministers said yesterday, is that our young people are shown how to drive their cars. We must provide centres for that here, as they have in other areas. It is fine for our students to get seven As and three Bs in their leaving or junior certificate examinations but what we must do is teach them to get from A to B safely. The only way we will do that is to show our young people how to drive a car and then not to be afraid to implement the law.

I ask the Minister of State to ask the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, and the Minister for Education and Science to ensure that the show put on in Donegal is shown to every student in Ireland. Fingal County Council, my county, Meath, and Mayo are the only four counties with a road safety officer. It should be compulsory that every county has a road safety officer in the county council.

See this speech in context