Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I do not envy the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, in having to take over road safety. The regime is riddled with problems and loopholes. The penalty points system and the fixed charge system are prime examples of how not to do State business. The system was introduced in haste by the then Minister for Transport, Deputy Brennan, in 2002. No administrative or available technology systems were put in place which could have made it work. Neither were financial or Garda personnel resources given over to the system. No changes were introduced into the court system to deal with the large increase of cases that would result from the roll-out of the system. Most significantly, no Minister was put in charge of implementing it. It was split between the Departments of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Garda. I take some comfort from the Minister for Transport taking departmental control of the national vehicle and driver file, NVDF.

Deputy O'Dowd has again brought this motion in Private Members' time because of concern for public safety on the roads. The concept behind the penalty points system of penalising in an incremental way is a good one. The concept of punishing bad driving behaviour and rewarding good can only bring about an improvement in driving behaviour if the system imposes a penalty. The current system has reversed this with bad driving behaviour being rewarded and good punished.

The poor eijit who accepts his penalty points and pays his fine is punished. The driver who does not care takes his or her chance with the courts and is rewarded, as only one in six cases ends up paying. With such great odds one would want to be a fool not to take them. Up to 50% of offenders have already come to this conclusion, not bothering to pay their fixed charge for penalty points. Ultimately the system will collapse as people realise there is no point in paying a fixed charge. All expectations of improved road safety will be gone if people do not get the penalty points they deserve.

Many drivers caught speeding never receive any fine because they do not appear on the NVDF or their cars are not taxed in Ireland. Too many people are getting away with breaking the law. Everyone driving on our roads, regardless of where they come from, must obey the rules of the road. This is not happening.

The court system is in disarray. It should be seen as the final penalty and last resort. The idea behind the fixed penalty was to penalise bad drivers while keeping the matter out of the courts. The opposite is the case as the chances of getting any penalty from a court are slight. The courts are distracted from the work they should be doing. I foresaw this in 2006 when I warned of the dangers of clogging up the courts with the existing penalty points before bringing in the camera system, if that ever will be brought in. It seems to have had an extraordinarily long gestation. If it does come in I estimate that there at least 500,000 extra cases will go to the District Courts each year. The court system will collapse under that kind of strain.

A fundamental principle of human behaviour is that human beings act rationally and in their own interests. If that is the case they will not pay fines for penalty points because it does not make any sense. More and more people will die on the roads unless we reform the system which we have an opportunity to do.

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