James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

This motion is a genuine attempt to highlight a problem that is leading to unnecessary deaths on our roads. Such appalling fatalities could be prevented if measures were put in place to counteract problems with the penalty points system which promised much but, unfortunately, after a good start, has failed to deliver safety for our road users.

I am shocked that the Government could not see this motion for what it is and support it rather than rushing to justify its position, which is not defendable but rectifiable with concerted effort. Its self-congratulation fails to convince.

The issue of penalty points has been a "give on the one hand and take away with the other" response to road carnage by the Government. Having started as a positive response to the need to reduce road fatalities, the system has been allowed to fail due to Government inaction, ineptitude and failure to provide necessary resources to the Garda.

While the introduction of penalty points has had a positive effect on road safety, and I welcome any reduction in fatalities, the inability of the Government to ensure the enforcement of the measures has lessened the initiative's impact. Those who have lost family members and friends due to the lack of effort by the Government to halt the appalling level of deaths on our roads will take little consolation from the Government's extraordinarily negative response to this motion, which they countered with a self-congratulatory amendment.

The Courts Service claims that the system of issuing fixed penalty notices to motorists, designed to keep such cases out of court, is not working. It indicates that a total of 88,000 summonses in respect of fixed charge offences came before the courts in the first six months of 2007 and fears that the country's District Courts will be swamped. The number of motorists who end up being prosecuted for non-payment of fines has prompted the Courts Service to call for a number of measures such as outstanding fines being collected with annual motor tax renewals and the introduction of an increase of penalty points for those who fail to pay fines.

When it comes to court proceedings, the onus is on the Garda to prove that the person involved received the fixed penalty notice but if that person claims they never got it, what can the judge do but dismiss the case? The Road Safety Authority, whose mandate is to campaign on road safety, refuses to comment on the matter while stating that it does not comment on issues relating to enforcement or court cases.

Launched in a blaze of publicity and expense, the penalty points system had the desired effect initially and an impact on speeding and drink driving, with approximately 100 lives being saved on our roads in the first year. It is recognised by everybody that the system is now in chaos. An analysis carried out by the Committee of Public Accounts found that nearly all the photographs taken by Garda speed cameras in 2005 and 2006 were useless and unless the equipment is updated that situation will continue. That issue has been highlighted time and again.

In a disturbing development, the Road Safety Authority has become aware of a website which offers to sell EU driving licences to those who are convicted of driving offences. These licences, from an address in Spain, are offered to anyone who has been convicted of a traffic offence or who has failed their driving test. This is another direct threat to the enforcement of penalty points and another danger on our roads.

Some 18,000 drivers who hold non-Irish licences are able to treat the current system with disdain and get away scot free regarding the attachment of penalty points. Some satellite navigation devices have built in illegal devices and a certain website is promoting a speeding alert for young drivers as an ideal Christmas gift to avoid penalty points. It is a shame this is advertised on a website and that the Government does not take any action against it.

Until the system is fully functioning, with all legal and technical loopholes closed, Garda time will continue to be wasted and drivers will literally get away with murder as road deaths continue to rise. Speed limits are breached with impunity on dual carriageways and motorways. The lack of police presence gives a strong message to drivers that they can break the law and get away with it.

Up to two thirds of drivers — a shocking figure — who should be off the roads due to having the maximum penalty points, have failed to surrender their licences. Last month the Department confirmed that of the 121 drivers on 12 penalty points, only 40 had handed in their licences.

They cannot be forced to surrender their licences until the law is changed, as is the case in the UK where police can remove a licence from a driver on the spot. Such a provision makes much sense and the necessary legislative provision for enforcement should be put in place urgently.

See this speech in context