Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)

Mar a dúirt mé cheana, tá Sinn Féin i bhfábhar an Bhille seo, atá lán de chiall. As I stated on Second Stage, Sinn Féin welcomes this legislation. However, I reiterate some of the concerns we outlined previously, as there has been no movement by the Government on these issues, although I welcome some of the comments made by the Minister.

I take the opportunity to commend the Road Safety Authority for its initiatives to attempt to make Irish roads safer to drive on, in particular the campaign launched this week on motorway safety, given that six people have died so far this year in collisions on motorways in the Twenty-six Counties.

Sinn Féin supports mandatory breath-testing. However, we are conscious this is proposed in the Bill at the current high blood-alcohol rate. We hope the measures outlined in the Bill will have a positive effect in reducing the number who drink and drive. I note the programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce roadside drug testing programmes to combat the problem of driving under the influence of drugs. I heard what the Minister said about the Garda looking at new methods to deal with this. I urge the Government to consider introducing some form of drug testing.

The legislative programme does not mention alcohol and drugs. We need to approach this issue in a more positive way. A zero tolerance policy would eradicate the confusion surrounding the amount of alcohol a person can drink before he or she gets behind the wheel of a car. There should be no confusion. All too often during the Christmas period, after a party or function, or on bank holidays or at weekends we hear about people who take a drink and then get into a car and drive. As long as they are within a certain limit, this is deemed okay by the State, but it is costing lives. While I am conscious that advocating a zero tolerance policy for drivers would have an effect on rural Ireland where public transport infrastructure is more or less non-existent and very often the local pub is one of the only social outlets, we do not believe this is a reason not to advocate such a policy. It is a reason for the Government to ensure a situation does not develop where rural residents are left isolated because they cannot get to the local pub. On this basis, I call on the Minister for Transport, on behalf of the Government, to adequately invest in rural transport infrastructure.

Speed is another major factor in road deaths. Garda speed cameras are heavily concentrated on motorways.

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