Dáil debates

Wednesday, 23 November 2011

Road Transport Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed)

 

5:00 pm

Photo of Mattie McGrathMattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)

I am delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to the debate. I compliment the Minister on introducing this Bill. Mr. Gay Byrne, Mr. Noel Brett and the previous Minister were more interested in putting every rural driver off the road and they succeeded. I met the former Minister last night and he is doing well in his retirement. These men succeeded in closing rural Ireland and locking the gates. Rural towns and villages are desolate, which is a travesty.

I welcome what the Minister is trying to do in this Bill and his promise to introduce a more comprehensive Bill in the future. Road safety is of paramount importance for every user, whether he or she is a pedestrian, tourist or a motorist. I always acknowledged that when I opposed the Minister on issues relating to the Road Traffic Bill 2011. I did not advocate breaking the law but there must be balance. As Senator Ross stated, the powers in this legislation are draconian. I do not cast aspersions on the Minister but we do not know what might happen with future Ministers.

I refer to a road haulier in my county who employs 100 people and who featured in a "Prime Time Investigates" programme. It is interesting that this has come to mind on the day the programme has rightly been stood down. I wonder whether we will find out, as has happened with the newspapers in England, whether phones were tapped and other outrageous practices were carried out in the name of another bastion of our society, RTE. "Prime Time Investigates" did a programme on road hauliers and their drivers. While the programmers were entitled to do that, they have to abide within the law. We have witnessed what they did elsewhere recently.

I would like to revisit this programme and the outrageous attack on a businessman employing 100 people in Tipperary. I will not point to the current Minister or the Minister at the time but to a senior official in the Department, whom I will not name but with whom I fought. The haulier had a good reputation for 30 years, since licensing began, and he wanted to renew his licence, which must be done every five years. His trucks were impounded in Europe because an official would not sign off on his licence. The official had nothing to do only watch "Prime Time Investigates" and this was nothing short of blackguarding by a public official. Unfortunately, it goes on all the time. There are many good officials but this fellow sat in his armchair one night having come home from playing golf or whatever and watched the programme. He then decided he would not give a licence to this company owned by a decent hard working man employing 100 people. He was almost closed down.

When the deadline arrived, I was told the official could not be found because he had been transferred to Nenagh and then to somewhere else. I welcome the Government decision to scrap decentralisation because it was a hiding place for these faceless bureaucrats. This senior official decided he was all powerful and would not renew the licence, despite the fact that the gardaí in Thurles, Tipperary town and Templemore had given the haulier the highest recommendation. The trucks travelling to the continent for ten days needed licences. They were pulled in by police and the drivers had to pay on-the-spot fines. This almost brought the company to its knees. It was pure, sheer blackguarding. Deputy Ross's comments made me go down this track on this Bill because of the potential for wrongdoing and blackguarding by the Minister of the day or an official who is not accountable. There is no accountability, even in RTE. No one will be sacked or suffer wage cuts. No one will be dealt with; we are the only people who have to face the public about this quango. These people are above and beyond reproach.

Deputy Ross also mentioned Iarnród Éireann and the Malahide viaduct. There is a viaduct in my home town, Cahir, and it has collapsed twice in my lifetime. I was only a kid when it collapsed first and there were fatalities but this time it collapsed with a train crossing it. Thankfully, the train was almost over. The back carriages fell down and the driver was able to hold the train on the track but there could have been awful consequences. There is a lovely, scenic walk under that viaduct from where anybody can see that it is not in good condition. One does need to be an engineer or an official. It is an ornate limestone structure but stones are missing from the pillars. They were put there by hand 200 or 300 years ago. The viaduct has been neglected like many other structures overseen by Iarnród Éireann. Many structures look decrepit and while I do not say they are unsafe, I question the practice of assessing them, who assesses them and what qualifications they have. How can a structure that must bear such a load be assessed through a visual inspection? Like Coillte and other bodies, Iarnród Éireann does not maintain properties because it does not have the staff; they are neglected. I am worried about this.

I support the Sinn Féin amendment and compliment my colleagues on putting it down. Why should they now be penalised if they for the best of motives helped to fight and tried to seek the freedom of our country? I am interested to hear from other colleagues. If the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement is in place, this should be dealt with in the Bill and they should be allowed to take up whatever occupation is necessary and should not be victimised.

I worry about the Garda vetting process. Apart from the delays, the system is now decentralised in every county and Garda vetting no longer operates as it used to. I was glad to see people from Cork today protesting about rural Garda stations. The local garda knew everybody, which is the only way to vet people. He knew a person's character and he knew the family. Now, a person fills in a form but the garda does not know him, so Garda vetting is not worth the paper it is written on. There is nobody a person can telephone to ask: "Who is Mattie McGrath? Is he of good standing and has he done whatever?" If some people had their way, I would not get a licence either. I would have been away for a holiday as well, if some got their way, but thankfully the jury in my own constituency decided otherwise. We must make haste slowly, as I often say. This is a very tricky area and should be examined very carefully.

I know something about the issue of school buses as my family were involved in this area. Given the cuts and charges that have been imposed on students by this Government and the previous Government, the buses are now passing students' homes but they cannot afford to use them. In addition, the whole area has been greatly opened up. While there was a good relationship with Bus Éireann and the route licence holders, that is all gone and it is a case of undercutting, and Bus Éireann introduced its own cut last year. People are now going in at prices at which they just could not provide a service. There will be accidents, God help me, as I hate to say that, but short cuts are being taken.

I spoke recently to a person who used to drive a big bus but was never checked. If a bus driver refuses to drive a bus because it is unsafe, that person will simply be let go or moved out of the company. There are no checks on Bus Éireann buses or many big passenger buses, just as it is with the taxis. We entrust our lives and our families to large 55 seater buses but there are no proper checks on them, whether for Bus Éireann or private operators, which is very dangerous. This is too important an area and must be examined very seriously.

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