Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

Yes, I am.

I welcome the opportunity to address the Minister and thank him for his presence. I also welcome the opportunity to speak to the Bill. Many Members of this House travel the roads on a daily basis, clocking up many kilometres in the process. I probably live the furthest away from Leinster House in that I have to travel 390 km each way door to door. To be selfish about this, I declare an interest in that I hope I will make sure the roads other Members and I travel are safe; that drivers, particularly of heavy vehicles such as HGVs and buses, are competent, of good character and perform their work in the best possible and safest conditions on the roads.

The Bill is being introduced on foot of EU regulations dealing with road transport operators who carry passengers and freight which will come into effect on Sunday, 4 December. In that context, this is rushed legislation. While it is never a good idea to rush legislation, I understand the Minister's point that, regrettably, we have no choice but to put this legislation through the Houses quickly to have it through by 4 December.

The Bill presents an opportunity to reflect on the nature of the work hauliers, bus drivers and HGV operators do not only for themselves but also on behalf of the economy. They are its lifeblood in terms of trade and the movement of passengers throughout the country. We should not underestimate the important role they play in the economic life of the country and in terms of social well-being.

One of the reasons the legalisation is being introduced is the awarding of a road transport operator's licence in June 2009 to a person who had been convicted of a serious criminal offence. The regulations were later amended to prevent a person who had been so convicted from holding a licence for a period of two years following summary conviction, or five years following conviction on indictment of various stated acts.

On a lighter note, I take the opportunity to raise a matter not clearly stated in the Bill, but sometimes it is nearly as important to examine what is not included in a Bill. I ask the Minister to confirm something for me when replying. For example, fishermen who have committed very minor offences have their first legal sitting at Circuit Criminal Court level and such an offence often leads to a criminal conviction. If they were to move from the fishing industry, I ask the Minister to confirm that they would not be hit with such provisions under this legislation. This is a bugbear of mine and I know other Deputies would raise the same issue. Some of the secondary legislation in the form of statutory instruments has been repealed giving rise to the need for the Bill. I understand it contains no time limit in respect of previous convictions and the Minister is now determining if this would be a disproportionate response considering the nature of the offences involved in deciding to grant or refuse a licence application.

I take the opportunity to mention to the Minister that the previous Government had indicated its intention to introduce a spent convictions Bill to determine for how long a conviction should stand on a person's record. With respect, I suggest the Minister might protect himself by drawing up guidelines or legislation for consideration on these matters that could be amended if such a Bill were to be passed by the House in the future. There is a statistic to back up my suggestion. Some 40% of those convicted of dangerous driving had previous convictions. It is a startling statistic, one of which we should take note.

Taking account of the work done and contribution made by such operators to the economy, I am concerned the Bill will add to the red tape small independent transport operators, in particular, will have to cut through before they will be able to operate. I ask the Minister to reflect on the volume of red tape that has to be dealt with by operators and minimise it in any way he can to maintain a competitive advantage for our operators who work in tremendously difficult circumstances on local and regional roads which in many cases one could argue are not fit for purpose, particularly for the carriage of loads of 22 tonnes or 24 tonnes. It would be remiss of me not to ask that the volume of red tape be examined. I cite as an example restaurateurs who may well have to report to 20 agencies, which involves 20 examinations or inspections and the payment of 20 fees. The amount of red table involved can be over the top for the people concerned, but I am cognisant of the need to maintain high standards of safety, competence and trust within the industry. I hope the Bill will go a long way towards achieving this.

Many local authorities are grappling with a decision taken by a previous Minister on the metrification of speed limits. A default speed limit was set for roads throughout the country. However, some of the patchwork efforts made within local authority areas have led to confusion and dangerous situations in some cases. A HGV or bus operator, particularly when travelling in less familiar environments, may not be aware of the speed limit as it changes so often. There is a good deal of road signage on local, regional and national roads but very few speed limit signs. Perhaps there is a way to place fluorescent colour coding on much of that signage, which would indicate to experienced or professional drivers the speed limit zone they are in, rather than having to wait for the next indicated speed limit sign, particularly where speed limits no longer apply.

I also wish to address some of the issues that have come to my office in recent months. A major issue is with regard to competent commercial drivers returning to Ireland from the United States and Australia. I know of a mature commercial driver who returned from the United States earlier this year and who holds licences to a very competent level. He is licensed to drive motor cycles, cars, vehicles for up to 15 passengers and HGVs, and he has held these licenses accident-free for 20 years. Because we do not have an exchange agreement with any of the United States he has been informed he must undertake driving lessons for each licence which will cost approximately €2,000. Although the legislation does not provide for a change in this situation it must be examined if we are to deal with this in a rational and effective way.

Another Irish national who worked for an international organisation linked with the United Nations held driving licences in 15 countries inj the past 20 years. His last post was in an eastern European country which does not have a driver licence exchange agreement with Ireland. He must also undergo the same courses and lessons and pay the same fees. This is very onerous, unfair and unreasonable.

I also know of an Irish citizen who lives in Australia for six months of every year and who wishes to keep an Irish and Australian driving licence. The person does not want to surrender the Australian driving licence for economic reasons. There should be a way of recording convictions and penalty points in both jurisdictions.

I do not suggest that Irish driving licences should be given out willy-nilly without tests, but we should have a basic competency test to ensure Irish people returning here are allowed to continue working as HGV operators. The people in the examples I have given have no convictions or criminal records. They have done nothing wrong. All they have done is returned. They are very competent in their work. The only difference is they must drive on the left-hand side of the road. I will continue to pursue these issues and I ask the Minister and the Road Safety Authority to deal reasonably with them as soon as possible.

See this speech in context