Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

The Minister was on holiday, as is his entitlement, and there was insufficient salt to grit the motorways. Those motorways have been built to high standards but surely it is just as important that they be maintained. Letting thousands of motorists onto roads that were unsafe for driving was reckless. Somebody should have been held responsible for the shortfall of salt.

Recent research from Sweden shows that people who drink at home alone have more health problems than those who do not, including psychiatric difficulties. Rural isolation is a significant problem and we must seek balance in addressing all these matters. I have been a board member of Ring a Link, a three-county rural project, since its inception. The group has done great work in providing rural transport and thus combating rural isolation for men, women and children in various communities, but it only operates from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. We examined the possibility of running it later at night but could not do so because we do not have the funding. An extension of the operating hours would make a great dent into the rural isolation problem by allowing people to get about with greater flexibility.

Publicans have been bashed in the course of this debate and there have been disparaging references to the vintners' lobby. The reality, however, is that people who go to the pub will have a measured drink in a controlled environment and at the end of the night will know exactly how much they have consumed. The majority of publicans are responsible, will look after customers, take their keys, ensure they have a lift home or have somebody to collect them. As a father of eight children, I am in favour of responsibility, but we also need balance and that is what is missing.

I am very critical of the powers afforded to the Road Safety Authority. I am not saying that road safety cannot be improved. However, the way to achieve this is to praise drivers for being among the safest in Europe and to encourage excellence through education. Batting people with an endless succession of sticks may be favoured by the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, and his friends, but people in this country do not take kindly to such aggression and abuse of power, and they never did. It is better for legislators to bring people with them, to legislate for all the people fairly and honestly and not to stigmatise any group. I hope this Bill can be amended to allow us all to live our lives safely, peacefully and honestly.

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