P J Sheehan (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

There is not a great demand on the part of Members to speak. If a juggernaut ran into a school playground and caused ten fatalities, one would not ban juggernauts because doing so would not make any sense. However, is this not what the irrational Green Party Government is doing because a deer ran into a school playground? In lowering the alcohol limits, the Minister is using the same principle but not taking all the other factors into account. He is using some statistics to back up a flawed case. The sure way to deter drink-driving is to increase enforcement, not lower the blood alcohol limit.

If the Minister is telling the House that a driver who provides a sample of 0.021g is more dangerous than the airline pilot overhead with 300 passengers who is legally permitted a sample of 0.039g, it is time for common sense and I urge him to withdraw the Bill. I want him to tear it up as I now propose to do or rewrite it with common sense in mind. If he wants to lower the limits, then he should lower them to 50mg for new drivers and professional drivers, just above the limit set for an airline pilot, and leave the current limit as it is at 80mg for all other drivers. To cite someone else, it is time to get out his peann luaidhe and everywhere in this Bill he sees see "50", he should cross it out and make it "80", and everywhere he sees "20", he should cross it out and make it "50".

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