James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

There are two very serous obstacles in the changes being proposed as regards alcohol consumption and road fatalities, as outlined in this Bill, namely the shocking condition of many roads and the lack of gardaí to enforce the proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Acts 1961-2006.

Road safety is conditional on safe, well-maintained roads and if changes are to be enacted in the blood alcohol content, the necessary gardaí must be provided. Failure to deliver on these two requirements militates against any safety provisions in the Bill. These are the areas in which the Government has failed to deliver.

In my constituency, Longford-Westmeath, we have some of the worst roads in the country. A recent AA report pointed out that the road from Granard to Longford and into Cavan towards Monaghan is like the road to hell. It is one of the worst roads in the country. Just before Christmas my brother and I were travelling in the Clones direction and we were very lucky to escape with our lives because of the condition of a stretch of the road between Butlersbridge and Clones. These are issues that need to be addressed. Year after year this Government has consistently refused to fund our road infrastructure adequately. This is especially relevant now since many of our roads have been so dreadfully affected by the recent severe conditions and are unusable from a safety perspective. Throughout the country roads have been closed, especially county roads and this has had a serious impact. People must make diversions and this brings about a situation where speeding occurs because diversions can make journeys longer. People must get to a destination on time but no awareness is being created in the media that certain roads are closed. This is a serious problem, especially in the midlands and the situation is similar in other areas.

The National Roads Authority allocations for road improvement and maintenance for the midlands announced earlier this month were miserly in the light of the great damage done to roads by the recent severe weather conditions and flooding, especially in south Longford and the Athlone area of County Westmeath. The total allocation of €21,396,201 for improvements and maintenance for Westmeath County Council falls far short of last year's allocation of well in excess of €70 million. Total funding for County Longford is approximately €3,021,000, a small increase on last year's allocation which is minor considering the allocation for Longford has been falling annually.

While I am pleased to welcome funding for the improvement of Longford-Westmeath roads, which are some of the worst in the country, the allocations announced are inadequate in light of the devastation caused by the recent snow, frost and flooding. The Longford County Council shortfall in funding of €250,000 for the clean up of large parts of the county following the flooding is having a serious impact on the safety of our roads. In the aftermath of the flooding, the Minister, Deputy Gormley, met several county councillors and officials of local authorities, but he did not include Longford. To add insult to injury, the Minister was highly provocative when he remarked that councils were free to add their own money to the much reduced 2010 regional and local grants announced last Monday week. With spending on regional and local roads reduced from the 2009 figure of €607 million to €411 million, a drop in funding of €200 million, cash-strapped local authorities are struggling to make good the damage caused by the big freeze and flooding before and after Christmas.

Longford is being forced to work with a miserly grant aid of €5 million while Westmeath has been allocated reduced funding of €12,064,899. To suggest councils can make up the deficit when they are struggling to cope with the unprecedented damage caused by severe weather is an extraordinary statement of the "Let them eat cake" variety.

The Minister is well aware that councils have suffered from reduced funding and have no spare cash in their coffers to make good any further repairs. The decision of the Minister, Deputy Gormley, to scale back essential funding with no provision made for weather damage will be directly linked to serious accidents on many roads that have been ignored and are in need of remedial works. His actions will result in further deterioration of the already dangerous roads or the shelving of essential projects to make good weather-related damage and improve the safety of our roads.

The Government and the Minister are saying no extra money will be available to ameliorate severe weather damage to roads. Each local council must prioritise and juggle as best they can with reduced funding. This is untenable and the Government should note as much. No doubt various managers, directors of services, mayors and councillors throughout the length an breadth of the country have warned the Government of this situation and the serious effect it will have on the safety of our roads.

Valuable infrastructure in Longford-Westmeath is being overlooked again as the Government seeks to fill the coffers it emptied. Despite this, the Government contends it is committed to improving road safety.

I refer to enforcement of drink-driving limits and the lack of necessary Garda numbers to enforce change. The programme for Government contained a commitment to increase Garda numbers to 16,000 in the lifetime of this Dáil. The chances of this taking place look very bleak given the vast number of retirements and the Government's failure to allow recruitment. We are seeing the continued closure of rural Garda stations throughout the country along with reduced man power hours.

One in four pedestrians killed in road accidents are drunk at the time. An examination of Garda files relating to fatal road traffic accidents between 2003 and 2005 shows that alcohol was a contributing factor in 50 deaths or 24.4% of the total. In 22 cases, pedestrians were three times in excess of the legal limit and 82% of fatalities occurred between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. Where were the necessary gardaí on the beat, especially in rural areas?

The breakdown in the norms of behaviour can be directly related to the lack of a Garda presence on our streets. The tendency towards binge drinking, especially among young people, cannot be controlled without the deterrent of well-policed streets and 24 hour opening of rural and urban Garda stations. A major weakness of the Bill is that it does not introduce a full, graduated licensing system but rather an element of a graduated licensing scheme into the existing driver licensing system. It is disappointing that measures which are not overly-prescriptive, such as zero alcohol levels for young learner drivers, have not been included or introduced in the Bill. Such a measure was considered under the proposals for the graduated driving licence, GDL, system and would be a positive move in terms of driver education. This is badly needed and I trust the Government will consider tabling amendments to this effect.

A major omission of this legislation is the lack of a mandatory treatment programme or driver education for those convicted of drink-driving. Individual judges have, on occasion, ruled that persons convicted of drink-driving must attend alcohol or drug treatment programmes but this Bill does not include a statutory obligation to do so. This strikes me as a serious omission because there is no long-term incentive to change behaviour beyond the duration of the disqualification. On the matter of drink-driving and road deaths, consideration must be given to drivers under the influence of drugs and those who abuse the speed limits. Every crossroads in the country has a series of black rings, evidence of high-speed chases and doughnut spins. Do we have figures for fatalities caused from such actions? No. Do we highlight those fatalities caused by drug abuse or fatigue? I am unaware of statistics from the Government in these areas. Driving under the influence of drugs has been a statutory offence since the enactment of the Road Traffic Act 1961. This Act prohibits driving in a public place while under the influence of an intoxicant to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of one's vehicle. However, there is currently no legislation in place to allow for the roadside testing of drivers for the consumption of drugs. There are no graded penalties based on the concentration of drugs in a driver's system, as there are in respect of alcohol. It is to be welcomed that this Bill will provide the Garda with powers to form an opinion that a driver is under the influence of an intoxicant by carrying out a preliminary test. I very much welcome this.

In a recent road safety report by the European Transport Safety Council, Ireland is ranked sixth safest country in the European Union. However, the council warned that Ireland is not likely to reach its target of reducing road deaths to 205 by 2010. This would represent a reduction of 50%, the target set by the council in 2001 for all EU states.

There is a strong difference of opinion over whether the lowering of the blood alcohol limit will have an impact on the number of road deaths. It has been stated the reduction from 80 mg to 50 mg for an experienced driver will have no effect on fatalities. However, those in rural areas have seen a shocking reduction in public transport and will be forced to stay at home. This will result in a further erosion in trade for rural pubs. We all know at least two are closing per week.

There is a very innovative answer to the problem as to how to enjoy a night out without worrying about drink driving but its cost-effectiveness is likely to make it an urban rather than a rural solution. Started in the United Kingdom under the name Scooterman and now available in Dublin and the greater Dublin area as Carhome, the service to which I refer involves hiring a driver to bring one home in one's own car. The fully insured driver arrives on a specially designed scooter or motorbike at whatever venue or time one chooses. He or she folds the scooter into the boot of one's car and takes one home. The service is designed to be cheaper than a return taxi journey. Given the logistics of rural transport, this option would be financially impossible for those in remote areas or those just outside towns or cities unless it were heavily subsidised by the Government. Such a subsidy should be put in place by the Government to start up the new concept. There are many entrepreneurs and young people out of work at present. If they were assisted in starting up in this area, they would do so. This would result in a job in nearly every parish nationally. The idea is very innovative and is being implemented in this city. It was commenced in the United Kingdom some years ago.

I was interested in Deputy Noel Ahern's statement that the Bill has a half-hearted approach to road safety, bearing in mind the fact that there was so much huffing and puffing late last year at the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party meeting on the Bill. Several meetings were held with Deputies, including Deputy Mattie McGrath, who was speaking through both sides of his mouth on the issue. He made some comment to the effect that a few pints would settle one's nerves.

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