Ulick Burke (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I thank my colleagues for sharing time and giving me an opportunity to contribute to this important debate. I welcome the motion tabled by Deputy O'Dowd, which has necessitated a response from the Minister. He has acknowledged our concerns to some degree. However, I have difficulty with the fact that discretion is allowed to gardaí in respect of testing drivers at the scene of an accident. I respectfully suggest that gardaí do not have the medical capacity to make a judgment as to whether of not those involved in road accidents should be tested. I hope that situation will change.

Many simple and inexpensive items could be introduced if the various Departments and agencies concerned, including the National Roads Authority, were willing to do so. While we have received some data on road accidents from the NRA, it has taken too long to obtain such data in certain cases. For example, the NRA was requested, begged and implored for 12 years to change the alignment and speed limits on the N6 from Aughrim to Cappataggle. However, the NRA only responded following the black cross campaign by families who had lost loved ones on that stretch of road. The authority said repeatedly that it could not reduce the speed limit on that national primary route, although it eventually did reduce it to 50 km/h.

The NRA also said it could not introduce warning signage because it might lead to difficulties in legal cases, but it eventually did so when forced into it. The authority also said it could not provide a double white line for such a long stretch of national primary road, yet it eventually did so. Many deaths could have been avoided but for the NRA's intransigence in responding to such local needs. The irony is that the NRA bought land to bypass that stretch of road, but that purchase proved to be futile. The authority spent €250,000 compensating the farmers involved but the land was left idle and has now reverted to its owners.

Meanwhile, the Garda Síochána is still not enforcing pub closing hours. Most road accidents occur from Thursday night to Monday morning. However, gardaí are passing public houses in rural and urban areas knowing quite well that after-hours drinking is continuing on licensed premises. There is an obligation on publicans to adhere to specified pub closing times, which should be enforced by gardaí. The Minister of State can smile if he wishes.

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