Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

I support the Bill, as my party will support it. There are many good things in it. Likewise, many issues require to be teased out on Committee Stage. We intend to table amendments, as I have no doubt will the Minister. I hope the political context of the debate is a constructive one and that points are made validly on all sides.

I praise Mr. Noel Brett of the Road Safety Authority, Mr. Gay Byrne, PARC and others who campaigned to get the legislation on the books. Meeting them and listening to them and, especially those who have lost family members in road traffic accidents, and feeling their pain made us realise that it was time we did more in this area.

I welcome the reduction in the number of road deaths. Approximately 240 people died on the roads last year, which means that we have been successful in reducing the number of deaths on our roads. I am not being political in saying that we should beware of becoming too confident that things have changed. There are probably fewer cars on the road and therefore there is less potential for accidents. We should not become too complacent. Let us keep up the good work.

Certain aspects of the Bill have caused controversy. I agree with the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, that there has been much debate around the country about the reduction in the level of blood alcohol from 80 mg to 50 mg. There are strong medical grounds in favour of that argument, in that it reduces significantly although not totally one's propensity to have an accident. It also introduces a level playing pitch, for the want of a better term, right across Europe. I understand that once the legislation is passed Malta will be the only country remaining at the higher limit. I welcome the fact that the same limits will apply regardless of where one is in Europe, which is a good thing. There will be no doubt about the issue.

I also welcome the second reduction in blood alcohol limit to 20 mg for learner drivers and professional drivers. It is critical that there would be a higher benchmark for people who drive for a living, be they taxi drivers or bus drivers, and learner drivers. In other words, they can drink practically nothing at all. That is the way it ought to be. From observing trends in Europe, that appears to be the direction in which Europe is going.

Alcohol is the third highest cause of death after heart disease. Alcohol abuse is another issue of concern. I accept that jobs are created by alcohol production, which generates revenue and contributes to the European economy by approximately €9 billion per year. While alcohol has been, and continues to be consumed by many people without causing a problem, a significant proportion of alcohol consumption generates harm for individuals and society. The misuse of alcohol generates high costs to society, which are estimated to be as high as 1.3% of the European GDP (EC 2008), thus, the costs exceed the benefits by more than 17 times.

An analysis of road deaths across Europe was conducted, which found that the consequences of harmful and hazardous alcohol consumption include, amongst others, a considerable number of deaths on EU roads; that driving while under the influence of alcohol contributes annually to around 10,000 deaths on European roads and that national data shows that typically 15%-25% of deaths are associated with alcohol impairment of an active accident participant. The analysis also found that if the number of alcohol impaired drivers had dropped to zero - which will never happen - some 6,800 lives could have been saved in 2007, representing some 16% of the total number of deaths. That must be our target. We must reduce road deaths.

I refer to the European Transport Safety Council report on commercial driving in Europe. Of the 21 nations that employ roadside testing for alcohol while driving commercial vehicles, Ireland ranks seventh. While generally there is a lower level of alcohol impairment among drivers of commercial vehicles, at 3% Ireland is ranked high in the European league and this issue needs to be tackled. Notwithstanding all the good provisions in the legislation aimed at reducing alcohol limits, all the research in this area highlights that enforcement is an issue. It is all very well reducing the BAC levels but if traffic laws are not enforced, we will continue to have problems, notwithstanding reductions in speeding and alcohol consumption by drivers.

The referral for treatment of those who have been convicted of drink or drug driving is also an issue. We may have to make it mandatory for those convicted of these offences to do a course in alcohol counselling. Together with the penalty of being unable to drive, that should change the mind set of people. Changing the way we think about these issues is what the legislation is about. The research highlights that if one is convicted of drink driving, one will revert to one's old form unless other interventions are put in place. The Minister is nodding and I have no doubt he will take my comments on board. I do not suggest a significant budget would be needed to provide such courses but it should be mandatory for offenders to do them.

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