Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)

I strongly support the Fine Gael Private Members' motion. Road safety is of critical importance to everybody in this State. I offer my sympathy to all families who have lost a loved one on our roads. In my constituency in County Clare, the late William Ryan of Ennis sadly lost his life earlier this week and will be laid to rest tomorrow.

This debate must bring about change. I welcome the establishment of the Road Safety Authority, but the Government must provide the necessary funding and resources to tackle the daily horror of deaths on our roads. It is through education in our schools that we can address this problem. We must adopt a new approach to engage with young people in particular to improve safety on our roads.

An Irish school of excellence has been set up in Ennis, County Clare, to address directly the issue of road safety. This programme consists of 36 periods of classroom instruction and at least 12 driving lessons. This new approach is being spearheaded by Mr. Kieran O'Brien, a native of Clarecastle, County Clare. Year one of the programme runs from September to the end of the school term and focuses on preparing students to take the driver theory test. It also involves talks with the Road Safety Authority, the gardaí and the insurance industry. Year two has a more practical emphasis, with students taking between 15 and 18 driving tests and lessons. Victims of road traffic accidents also contribute to the curriculum. That hands-on approach to practical learning and the shared experience of victims of road traffic accidents is having a real impact on young drivers. It is the way forward. Twenty schools throughout Clare, Limerick and Galway participate in this programme but, unfortunately, the State does not recognise it. It is not funded and it is not resourced. I appeal to the Minister to seriously examine that initiative with a view to rolling it out in all schools.

The conditions of our roads, secondary roads in particular, are a central factor in road traffic accidents. I refer in particular to poor road surfaces, signage and drainage, bad road markings and bends, poor sight distances at junctions, limited traffic calming measures, the absence of hedge cutting and inappropriate speed limits. Time and again these issues are raised at council level throughout the country and we are told that there are insufficient resources available. That is the standard answer. Local authorities need a clear direction from the Minister to carry out an audit of those accident black spots. Areas must be identified and money allocated to address each individual case, electoral area by electoral area.

We need a dramatic improvement in safety at our schools. When a new school is built or refurbished, the planning requirements provide for proper set down and pick up facilities but what about existing schools? I have raised here the necessity to provide set down and pick up areas at all schools in County Clare. For example, Newmarket-on-Fergus and Doolin national schools are crying out for better parking facilities. They have made applications to the Department of Education and Science and each time are turned down because of lack of funding, and they have been turned down on appeal. This is a standard requirement that must be introduced. People must be able to drop off their children in safety at their school. A prototype of a set down and pick up facility should be designed for all schools. I encourage the Minister to give serious consideration to that. I welcome the Government's change of heart on mandatory alcohol testing at accident sites. I support the motion.

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