John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Bill to the House. I am pleased to have an opportunity to make a few points on it. The Minister for Transport will accept that it has been the subject of emotive debate within the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party and among urban and rural Deputies on all sides of the House. As we try to strike a balance between keeping rural Ireland alive and protecting people's lives, we should ensure that road safety is paramount. I understand that the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, intends to table some amendments at a later stage. I am sure he has listened to the comments of Deputies from all sides of the House on improving safety while treating people in rural Ireland, in particular, in a reasonable manner.

A great deal of road safety legislation has been enacted over the last number of years. During my time in the House, we have moved from having very little road safety regulation to introducing a raft of new legislation. Since 1998, we have introduced the fixed charge, the penalty points system, the new speed limits structure and mandatory alcohol testing checkpoints. I welcomed the establishment of the Road Safety Authority a few years ago. The mutual recognition of driving disqualifications in this country and the UK was introduced recently. The staff of the Road Safety Authority have been doing tremendous work to highlight the importance of road safety. The authority has introduced new initiatives and regulations and generally gone about its business in a practical way to ensure our roads are reasonably safe. People have criticised some of the measures introduced by the Road Safety Authority, which is an independent body to all intents and purposes. It conducts research, listens to people's views and engages in discussions with all the stakeholders on how best to make progress with new legislation. It has been doing an excellent job in this area.

As a result of the rampant movement of the Celtic tiger economy, the number of registered vehicles increased to 2.5 million at the end of 2008. That represents an increase of approximately 75% on the 1997 figure. The large number of vehicles on our roads has brought its own problems. Many of our roads were not up to the standard needed to meet the demands of the additional registered vehicles. In recent years, different Governments, with help from the EU, have invested substantial moneys in road developments and structures to ensure that our regional, local and national roads are of a higher standard. Of course there is a long way to go. The Minister is very supportive of the New Ross and Enniscorthy bypasses, which are still on the agenda in County Wexford. I hope the problems with the New Ross bypass, which are being caused by objections, can be resolved quickly so we can make progress with the huge stretch of road that is needed between Gorey and New Ross as a gateway into the south east. I hope we will not have many more delays in that regard.

When I talk about the problems faced by families as a result of road accidents, I speak as someone with experience in this regard. One of my daughters was killed in a road accident 12 years ago. I would not like that to happen to too many families up and down the country. It brings tremendous grief and sadness to families, taking them a long time to deal with it. Every time I hear of a major road accident in which young people were killed, I empathise with their families and the difficulties they will have as it takes a long time to deal with such a fatality. One is always wondering if one's child were alive today where they would be working, would they be married or have gone abroad. No one can object to the Minister improving road quality and safety, particularly for young people.

All road safety programmes from the Department, the Minister and other road safety agencies must always get the message across to young people that fast driving, driving under the influence of alcohol and taking chances are not acceptable.

Some claim road safety advertisements on television are stark, alarming and can cause upset and concern for families which have suffered a road fatality. Naturally, whenever I see one on the television it brings home to me and my family our loss. However, if it can get the message across to young people, I would have no problem with it. A car can be a lethal weapon. Young people must bear in mind that they should slow down, be properly trained and have a full licence. I welcome the fact the Minister is moving in that direction.

Balancing the new provisions concerning drink-driving and preventing rural isolation is a difficulty for all parties. Many in rural areas have no access to taxis, buses or other modes of transport other than their own cars when they want to socialise. The rural transport initiative has been successful where it has been introduced. I would like the Government to examine how it could be extended into more rural areas. It may need more funding from the Government or for the Vintners Association and rural-based companies to come on board? It would ensure transport for rural dwellers to socialise at weekends. In Enniscorthy, the hackney and taxi business is certainly thriving. At my local GAA club, which has modern bar facilities, every Sunday morning I always notice the number cars left overnight in the car park. People have more sense now about getting a taxi home on a Saturday night after a few drinks. The message is getting through not to drink and drive.

I have some concerns about home-drinking which is becoming more prominent in both rural and urban areas. Drink is cheap in the supermarkets and I am concerned at how they are able to lash out the drink at reduced prices morning until night. There seem to be no regulations as to how they operate. As a result, home-drinking has become very common. I accept some are responsible when drinking at home with a few glasses of wine or beer. However, young people drinking at home are effectively unsupervised. No one can bring a bit of discipline if matters get out hand. At least in a pub the owner can call on a group to behave or call the Garda. However, in many cases of home-drinking, people get too drunk, a fight breaks out, someone gets stabbed or beaten up and ends up in hospital. This is not alone causing grief for people but costs for the health services. I have no instant answer for dealing with this but it must be recognised as a major problem.

There was much criticism about the lowering of speed limits in Dublin city centre. I am not too familiar with driving in Dublin as I tend only to drive in and out on the Stillorgan road on a Tuesday morning and Thursday night. In many towns, however, many people are seeking speed-limit reductions. Many schools are located in towns, in some cases in the centre. School buses and parents driving their children to school mean there is a large volume of traffic in towns. Nearly every week in every town, a child is knocked down. The reduction of speed limits in built-up areas that can save lives and reduce the number of accidents is a good and welcome development. I would like more liaison between the Department and local authorities on speed limits in urban areas.

The Garda is essential to the implementation of road safety measures and that people observe the traffic laws. One could argue we do not have enough gardaí on the ground, but I believe the force is doing an excellent job in traffic management. The establishment of liaison groups between the Garda and local public representatives is a good development. Monthly, we can sit down with the local gardaí in a two-way process on improving road safety in a local community. It also allows local politicians and the gardaí to get to know each other and allows them to become more involved and active in their communities.

While driving under the influence of alcohol is a serious issue, many medical people have informed me that many road accidents are caused by people driving under the influence of drugs. Drug usage has become more common not just in cities, but also in rural towns and areas. There is no system in place to instantly detect whether people in a traffic accident have taken drugs. How long will it take to devise a proper system and one which will stand up in the courts? The lack of insurance on cars is an issue. The Garda Síochána tells me there are a significant number of people driving cars without insurance. Some get caught; some do not. Usually one is not caught until one has an accident and then one must produce an insurance certificate. We could have a better system of detection of those without insurance.

A number of people raised the issue of mobile telephones with me. We all take a chance on using mobile telephones in our hands. When people are caught the points are on the license for three years. A number of people said that three years is far too long and that it should be one or two years. If one collects a number of penalty points one could find oneself out of driving. Perhaps the Minister could examine this and see if the three year period can be made more reasonable. Different types of fixed charges and penalty points are being introduced under the new legislation and the Minister should examine this idea.

Many people have come to live in this country over the past ten years and they are very welcome. Many are employed in the hotel industry and they helped to drive the economy during the boom times. There seems to be problems with penalty points, driving licences and insurance. The Minister referred to these issues in his speech. There will be mutual recognition between this country and the UK but I wonder if the Minister is considering mutual recognition with other countries. There are many drivers from Poland, Romania and other countries, some of whom are here on a part-time basis and some on a full time basis. The agreement with the UK is welcome but I am not sure how we will operate the system. It must be seriously examined.

A number of Deputies made good suggestions about how the Bill could be improved. I do not refer to watering it down but improving it by taking on board some of the views expressed. We had a lively debate at our parliamentary party meeting when we discussed the issue. There is a mix of views between urban and rural areas. When the Minister is finalising the legislation and tabling amendments I ask him to take on board suggestions made, particularly those that relate to rural Ireland, driving licenses and fines. I welcome the change whereby a fine is sent in the post, notifying someone that they have been caught on the camera. If one pays within a certain period, one does not go to court and if one does not pay within 56 days, one must go to court. The Minister is changing this provision so that if one pays within seven days of going to court the on-the-spot fine will be acceptable. That is a good change because when people get the initial demand they throw it in a drawer or leave it to one side. There may be problems within families or illness and people do not pay on time. Then the person must go to court and must pay the solicitor's fee, the penalty points are doubled and many other issues arise. This is a welcome change the Minister is making. I welcome the Bill and hope the Minister will make some changes. Any Bill in this House that will save lives is an important Bill and one that we must support.

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