Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, has announced that existing legislation will be amended to allow for compulsory roadside testing. This is in line with his priorities declared earlier this year. I am glad everyone agrees with that decision.

The report of the European Transport Safety Council and the Government action programme on road safety both refer to the issue of insurance, among others. The dedicated Garda traffic corps is clamping down on this and every other abuse. The corps places 30,000 checkpoints on the roads every month. Measures have been introduced to reduce all road safety abuses. Lack of insurance is one of these. Priority has been given to the Garda traffic corps which has between 850 and 900 members, which number will increase to 1,250. The corps is clamping down extremely hard on all abuses. It confiscates the cars of non-insured drivers. I do not think they are sold off before their owners have a chance to put a case in their defence, but they are confiscated. This is necessary, as it is not acceptable to drive without insurance. While the number of road accident fatalities is declining, statistics from insurance companies, the Department of Transport and independent agencies all show that the figures for injuries and deaths are enormous. Apart from fatalities, road traffic injuries impose a cost on the health service and the insurance industry. This issue was raised some yearsago when we tried to reduce insurancepremiums.

Almost 500,000 penalty point cases have been processed by the Garda computer system since the action of the traffic corps was stepped up. It is the Government's intention to continue with this. The number of road accident fatalities has fallen by more than 10% in recent years and by 25% in the past 12 months. Members will be aware from the figures on road deaths released this week that Ireland is ranked 12th out of 29 countries and has a considerable way to go. I accept that stopping those who take the chance of driving without insurance and seizing their cars is but one measure. However, the main action, to answer Deputy Kenny's question, is the consolidated effort being made by the dedicated traffic corps which is stopping almost 30,000 motorists a month and is closing in on people who are abusing the Road Traffic Acts, including through their failure to have insurance.

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