Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

This is the first legislation introduced by the new Government and indicates our commitment to road safety. Speaking on behalf of the Government, I assure the House of our ongoing commitment to make roads even safer over the course of the next five years. The House will be aware that the first ever recorded fatality as a consequence of a road traffic accident occurred in Ireland over 100 years ago. Since then, thousands of people have lost their lives on our roads.

Improving road safety has been one of the great successes of recent years and I would like to recognise the contribution made by my forebears, Mr. Noel Dempsey and Mr. Martin Cullen, the Opposition spokespeople who co-operated with them, the civil servants who supported them, the Road Safety Authority, RSA, and the campaign groups who kept the pressure on.

The number of deaths as a consequence of road traffic accidents are half what they were ten years ago, yet there are many more cars on the road. However, there is no room for complacency and I am disturbed by the increase in the number of road deaths in the year to date. Some 49 people were killed on the roads in the first two and a half months of 2011, 15 more than in the same period last year.

The Bill I am moving was approved by the Seanad in January and was due to be introduced in this House before its dissolution on 1 February. As with most issues relating to road safety, the Bill enjoys support from all sections of the political spectrum and contains the same provisions introduced by my predecessor. Following its enactment, it will allow for the early introduction of significant provisions in road traffic legislation to support and reinforce the existing drink driving enforcement regime. The obvious incompatibility between alcohol and driving has been discussed a number of times in the House, as has the need to communicate to those drivers who persist in drinking and driving that such behaviour will no longer be tolerated. The Bill's provisions will further communicate that message. Drivers who, in the opinion of the Garda Síochána, have consumed intoxicating liquor and drivers who are involved in collisions where injury is caused will be required to undertake preliminary breath tests following the Bill's enactment.

Since 2001, Ireland has seen a rapid improvement in road safety, with fatalities down by 48% following the implementation of a comprehensive set of road safety measures. In 2007, the year the current road safety strategy was published, 338 people lost their lives on the roads. Last year, that figure was reduced to 212. The ongoing advancement in road safety performance results from the response of the Oireachtas to supporting road safety initiatives through the promotion and support of legislation and the formation of a cohesive policy structure under the road safety strategies. The current strategy developed by the RSA, covering the 2007-12 period, has been the trigger for many of the major provisions contained in the Road Traffic Act 2010 and those being debated today.

This Bill is the seventh major legislative initiative taken on traffic law in the past decade. The legislative progression during that time has seen the introduction of the fixed charge and penalty points systems, a new structure of speed limits based on metric values, the introduction of mandatory alcohol testing checkpoints, the establishment of the RSA, the introduction of the mutual recognition of driving disqualifications between this country and the United Kingdom and, most recently, the rollout of a network of privately operated safety cameras. This year will also see the introduction of lower blood alcohol concentration levels for drivers and preliminary impairment testing by An Garda Síochána for drug driving enforcement. I expect these provisions to come into force in September.

Ongoing initiatives such as safety cameras have had a significant and positive influence on road user culture. It is fair to say that our roads have without question become increasingly safer for all users in recent years. Despite these significant gains, it remains unacceptable that so many people should still die on our roads in this way. It has never been more important for all of us to ensure that complacency does not set in. The Bill will help us to keep people safe on our roads.

I now turn to the specific provisions being promoted in the Bill. Like my predecessor, I am anxious that the necessary legislation be put in place as quickly as possible to provide for mandatory breath testing at collision sites where injury is caused. Once in place, no driver can avoid being tested for alcohol intoxication where serious road collisions occur. The legislation will also serve a dual purpose by sending a strong message to all drivers who still contemplate the notion of drinking and driving. It allows for the introduction of consolidated provisions relating to the obligation to provide preliminary breath specimens that are planned for commencement later this year under the Road Traffic Act. New evidential breath testing instruments will be necessary to measure the lower blood alcohol concentration levels provided for in the 2010 Act. The Medical Bureau of Road Safety is well advanced in procuring the new evidential breath testing equipment for detecting and measuring the lower levels of BAC. A successful tenderer designate has been selected, subject to the conclusion of contract under the terms and conditions of the tender. A significant amount of testing is now required by the MBRS before the instruments can be put to use. A detailed training programme for the Garda in the use of the instruments will also be undertaken. It is estimated that the testing and training programme will be complete and instruments distributed to Garda stations in the autumn.

Section 9 of the 2010 Act provides for the mandatory breath testing of a driver who in the first instance, in the opinion of a member of the Garda has consumed intoxicating liquor or, in the second instance, has been involved in a road traffic collision which has resulted in an injury. Section 14 of the 2010 Act, which is linked with section 9, provides for the mandatory testing of a driver of a vehicle involved in a road traffic collision where the driver is injured and is removed to hospital. This section also provides that a member of the Garda shall test that driver in the hospital unless, following consultation with a doctor treating the driver, such testing would be prejudicial to his or her health.

There is a close interrelationship in the 2010 Act between sections 9 and 14 and the provisions in the Act for the lower BAC levels. Based on legal advice received by my Department, it will not be possible because of this link to commence sections 9 and 14, either in part or in their entirety, until the new evidential breath testing apparatus is in place. It would be beneficial if the mandatory testing provisions were introduced earlier than that and this Bill, therefore, provides for the early introduction of those provisions.

On previous occasions the question has been asked as to why there is no provision to test drivers involved in all road traffic collisions. The main reason is that, in many instances, the collisions result in material damage to vehicles only, are generally minor in nature and are settled by the drivers concerned and their insurers without Garda involvement as a civil matter. Gardaí are often not called to the scene and when they are, it is often an inappropriate use of Garda time and resources.

The issue of mandatory testing of drivers at collision sites was the subject of much debate during the passage of the 2010 Road Traffic Act. It was acknowledged during that process that road traffic legislation, particularly the provisions relating to intoxicated driving, is one of the most challenged in our courts. This necessitates that the drafting process of any new legislation must also focus on making the provisions as robust as possible. Consequently, we are all acutely aware of the need to strike a balance between the practicalities of the mandatory testing provision and the need for changes to be consistent with existing intoxicated driving legislation.

While the 2010 Act was being drafted, a concerted effort was made to consolidate all intoxicated driving legislation into a cohesive format that would be robust enough to withstand future challenges. In this context, it was important that the mandatory testing provision was knitted into the fabric of this legislation. Legal advice was sought on the relevant drafting of the Bill before us, given its association with so many other vital provisions in the Road Traffic Acts. In providing for mandatory testing, we did not want an oversight to undermine the entire testing regime and undo all that we are trying to achieve.

It is because of the detailed examination of the likely impact on other provisions that, following the advice of the Office of the Attorney General, sections 2 and 3 also recognise the powers of arrest conferred by law on Garda and the interaction between those provisions and the requirement for preliminary breath testing of drivers. This necessary and explicit clarification will avoid the undermining of those provisions when introducing mandatory testing. This clarification will also need to be reflected in the related intoxicated provisions of the 2010 Act. I intend to commence all of the intoxicated driving provisions of the 2010 Act later this year. Accordingly, I plan to amend sections 9 and 14 of the 2010 Act in a new road traffic (No. 2) Bill 2011 to be drafted and introduced in the Oireachtas soon. This will ensure all the necessary initiatives will come on stream together.

The key determinant of road safety performance is the behaviour of road users. Consequently, the primary focus of our road safety strategy is positively to influence that behaviour. This can be attained through initiatives across a range of areas including the enactment and enforcement of laws that promote good road user behaviour. Such laws must also be underpinned and supported by the application of fines, prison sentences and driving disqualifications as well as the necessary technological resources. This Bill is another element of that overall programme and will build on achievements in recent years. It will help to deliver additional improvements to the manner in which all drivers interact with our road system.

I am anxious, with the co-operation of Members, to secure the passage of this short Bill through the House as quickly as possible to allow for the early introduction of the provisions contained therein. Suggestions made by Members will be afforded detailed consideration within my Department with a view for their inclusion, if appropriate, in the next road traffic Bill, which I plan to introduce shortly. I look forward to the co-operation of Members in facilitating the speedy passage of the Bill, which I commend to the House.

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