Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)

I thank my senior colleague, Deputy O'Dowd, for giving me the opportunity to address this issue first.

I will start as the Minister did by referring to the past ten years and conclude by looking forward to the next ten years. In the past ten years between 3,500 and 4,000 people - I do not have the exact figures - were killed on our roads. The purpose of this Bill, and our job today, is to ensure that within the next ten years that number is reduced to the minimum. It has taken a long time for us to get to the position we are in now, and I congratulate the Minister on the efforts he has made since becoming Minister to make things happen somewhat quicker.

Many measures in the Bill can be somewhat controversial in every party. My party has no problem supporting it, however, because in the past ten years speed, bad road conditions, drink driving and drug driving have been the cause of many of the deaths to which I referred. It is my job as road safety spokesperson, a role Deputy Enda Kenny gave me five years ago when I was elected to this House, to address those issues. As the Minister rightly said, and I have always said, it was the Kentstown bus crash that ignited something in everybody to set targets in terms of road deaths. I dedicate my role to the girls who died in the crash.

Drink driving has been a massive problem in this country. One could look forward to the next ten years 40 different ways but I have listened to our young people. They are the people whom our road safety officers have addressed in schools. Those young people want everybody to be in a position where they can be driven to or collected from a pub without having to worry about drinking and driving. That is the way forward. It is not the main issue in regard to the demise of the pub trade, and I stand over that statement. It has to do with drink being sold at 90 cent a bottle and when the people involved finish drinking at home, they go out on the roads. That is the problem we will have to address.

The other issue we must address is the question of head shops. I am convinced of that since attending a meeting last night at which all the parties were involved. I am delighted the head shop issue is out in the open. Sergeant John O'Dwyer spoke to the people in attendance last night and told it like it was, so to speak. What he said was frightening.

This is an issue I will put at the top of my campaign. The Minister said Ireland is in fifth position internationally in terms of road deaths but I believe we are up in the top two at this stage. We must aim to be number one.

Drug driving is a massive problem. In Kells last night we were told there are runners in these head shops, which means if someone can get an order in to the shop, a runner is employed in the town to deliver these substances to homes, where there is no control over them. Everybody knows that drugs have become a massive issue. Those people use these substances and then get into their cars.

I ask the Minister, on behalf of every parent in the country, to take the lead over any other European country on this issue but before we proceed any further, the Garda needs more power. We should do what is being done in some states and if it costs a few euro extra, so be it. It could be taken from another budget. We must ensure that, first, these shops are not open here and, second, that we tackle the drugs issue. I see it in every parish. People take drugs in conjunction with alcohol which they can buy for 80 cent or 90 cent a bottle. They then go out in their cars at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. and are killed.

An issue that arises in the lowering of the drink driving limits is rural transport. The control of that is in our own hands and in the hands of the Minister in terms of flexibuses and so on. It is crucial that money is ring-fenced for those flexibus systems. I am aware they are known by a different name in other areas but it is a fantastic service. Some say it is only for the senior citizens but that is not the case. I am aware of young people's clubs that use it to go to the cinema and so on. We have asked our Deputies to come forward with ideas which we will put to the Minister. I ask the Minister to examine that issue in particular.

Speed cameras are long overdue. I do not understand the reason for the delay in introducing them. I do not want to dwell on that but they should be up and running. They are far more mobile in England and can twist and turn. I asked the Minister this morning about them and I am happy to hear they are being moved around because it is a fact that 73% of people are killed on rural roads. Those are the roads over which the Minister must have control, and he only has to do it once. It is like trying to sort out the problem of parking outside the school. Once the garda is put in place, they are not long about moving. Do it once and people know about it, and we conform.

As I said earlier, approximately 4,000 people were killed on our roads in the past ten years. Everybody in this House knows somebody who was killed on our roads. I know what it is like to be sitting with a girl when she died, and I saw a child being killed when I was two years of age. That never leaves one. We have a fantastic opportunity to do something about this problem now. Money is tight but I know the Minister will do his best in that regard. I will push him on it, and he knows that. This is one issue we will not fight over because it affects us all.

The 30 km/h speed limit in the city is an issue that must be addressed. I tried to drive at that speed and it cannot be done. If someone is crossing the street, by the time one moves off the lights have changed again. It must be addressed. A 40 km/h limit in O'Connell Street might be a happy medium. I am not a city driver but some of our Deputies who are say that 50 km/h might be too fast but one cannot handle a car at 30 km/h. I tried it last week and the person who is walking on the street is in more danger.

The question of penalty points will arise more frequently when the speed cameras are in place. The Garda Síochána say it is not out to penalise people but to save lives.

An issue that must be addressed, and I will ask the Minister about it later, is the fact that many fines are not being imposed because people say they no longer live at the address on the fine. They go to court and win their cases. We must come up with some other system. If a person is caught speeding, they must pay the fine and that is the end of the matter. I ask the Minister to examine that issue. Our party will do so and perhaps we can come to some agreement. The Minister said legislation is required but there are issues that we in Fine Gael, the Labour Party and other parties can bring forward and would like to see in this legislation.

The final issue I want to raise is one about which I am very concerned but about which the Minister can do a great deal. It concerns road conditions. The problem of drink driving was at the top of the list, road conditions was in the middle and speed may have been at the bottom, but speed has gone to the top of the list. That point was proved in the recent bad weather. I accept the number of people killed was small. The families of those who died are left to mourn and can do nothing to bring their loved ones back. These tragedies proved that speed is the greatest killer. All steps taken by the Minister in respect of speed cameras, support for the Garda Síochána, licences for drivers from outside the jurisdiction, cross-Border co-operation and so on are welcome. One of my first assignments was to attend a meeting in Stormont on cross-Border solutions to road traffic accidents. It is good that progress is beginning to take place and we look forward to further developments in this regard.

Road conditions are a matter of significant concern. Every councillor and Deputy receives telephone calls every day about the poor conditions of specific roads in their constituency. No sooner is one problem solved but there is a telephone call from somebody else asking why the road near his or her home cannot be fixed when improvements were made a short distance away. One can never satisfy all the people. I used to be afraid driving home to my village of Nobber every weekend because of the poor condition of the roads. I made representations on the issue and action has since been taken to improve the situation. We all look after our own in whatever way we can.

In general, however, the road network throughout the State is disintegrating. The Minister referred to improvements to various major roads, including the N3 and so on. However, it is on rural roads that people are being killed. I do not accept, and nor does the public, that we cannot fix the problems with these roads sooner than envisaged by the Government. At the rate we are going, by the time we get around to the last pothole it will have doubled in size. Local authority engineers and other staff are working hard but they cannot do what is necessary with the resources available to them. We must come to some re-budgeting arrangement that will allow those works to be undertaken. County managers throughout the State are adamant that existing funding allocations are inadequate. I am aware of one road where a pothole has expanded across its entire breadth. Drivers are forced to negotiate this route because there is no alternative.

For the sake of six, nine or 12 months' hard work, these problems could be solved. Sometimes it is necessary to throw caution to the wind and forget about budgets. All businesses must make allowance for what can go wrong. In such cases, the bank manager must be approached for assistance because the business is otherwise unworkable. That is the role of the Minister and it is our job to push him. The state of rural roads is entirely unacceptable and will inevitably lead to deaths. We are almost at the start of the busiest time of the year, with St. Patrick's Day approaching. I expect many people to take their holidays at home this year. If sterling continues on the same path we will undoubtedly have many visitors from the United Kingdom. The reality is that our roads are not fit to take those types of traffic volumes.

A visitor to Leinster House commented to one of my colleagues earlier today that high-speed tractors are being imported into the State which can reach speeds of 50 km/h. There are some concerns about the braking abilities of these vehicles. Will the Minister's officials investigate whether they are safe?

Roads and drugs will be my two gripes for as long as I am in this position, and I will treat both issues with the same urgency. Up to 60 people attended last night's meeting and we were left open-mouthed when Sergeant John O'Dwyer said it like it is in terms of the products available for sale in head shops. That type of honesty is invaluable. The availability of these substances will undoubtedly lead to deaths. It is almost as easy to obtain a substance that will produce a high as it is to order pizza for delivery. I have no problem in taking on the owners and operators of head shops. Burning them out is not the answer, as happened last week in Dublin. I may have to retract this in due course but it is my view that a drugs war is going on in Dublin and that certain people may be displeased that their patch has been taken. Perhaps I am wrong in this, in which case I will take it back.

The way to tackle this problem is through legislation. I understand the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, has given undertakings in this regard. I urge her to meet without delay my party's health spokesman to discuss some of his proposals. It may be time to close these shops immediately and worry about the legislation later. They are doing harm and there is no doubt that there will be deaths as a result of the consumption of their produce.

Fine Gael supports this Bill in general and will offer amendments for consideration by the Minister. I hope that in ten years' time we will consistently achieve the best figure in the European Union in terms of road deaths. Every life saved is worth all our efforts.

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