Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the legislation. The Bill is technical and while the changes are few in number, it is nonetheless important. As previous speakers indicated, it gives us an opportunity to bring the road haulage business and private bus operators into focus. The two previous speakers referred to some of the difficulties experienced by hauliers. There is no doubt that we are living in completely different times. Most haulage businesses are family owned and, in some instances, sole traders who are also trying to look after a family. We must be cognisant of the burden we are placing on road hauliers in terms of increased levies or further regulation. We must also be mindful of the cost implications and the bureaucratic burden already imposed on the industry.

When one considers the ability to transport goods within the jurisdiction and in and out of the country, we are totally dependent on the road haulage industry. A very small amount of freight is transferred by rail. We are, therefore, totally dependent on hauliers. There is an opportunity to engage with them in a much more constructive manner and to listen to their concerns because there is no doubt that the economy is totally dependent on their being able to function. Similarly, there is a need to engage with private bus operators who consider a considerable burden is being placed on them from the public transport perspective. In rural areas such as the constituency I represent there is no public transport other than along the main arterial routes. The public transport provided is provided by rural bus and private bus operators who do school runs and bring pensioners to local towns to collect their pensions. There is an opportunity to engage with the people concerned and I urge the Minister to do so.

I agree with what Deputy John Paul Phelan said about the previous debate we had in the House on other road traffic legislation which was addressed under three headings, namely, enforcement, engineering and education. There is no doubt that when it comes to engineering, the rural road network is not in good condition. I would be the first to say the previous Government deserved credit for building the motorway network. Deputy John Paul Phelan referred to the appalling state of directional signage on the rural road network. If one were dropped from outer space into the midlands and asked to find one's way to Newcastlewest, there is no way one would find it because of the lack of adequate road signage.

Deputy John Paul Phelan alluded also to the problem of maintaining road margins which represent an added cost for road hauliers and bus operators owing to the colossal wear and tear on lorries and buses. We depend on the people concerned on an annual basis to ensure the people and goods can move around. Secondary and tertiary rural roads are shovel-ready projects. In most cases the problem is that we do not have enough staff in local authorities to maintain roads and open drainage systems. I receive a significant amount of representations from road hauliers on this issue. Local authorities and county managers especially should begin to take the matter more seriously. Significant tax contributions are made by road hauliers on diesel, in VRT and the annual road contribution.

The Bill is necessary because it harmonises what is needed from a transfrontier perspective across the European Union in streamlining the regulations from an Irish point of view to make it easier for people with an Irish licence to travel abroad. I would like to see a simple driver's licence being brought forward much faster and I am aware the Minister has proposals to do this. When one presents an Irish driver's licence in America, for example, the response is to look at one as if one had about four heads when people see a pink sheet of paper on display. Such changes will improve the position.

I welcome the opportunity to speak, but I urge that the road safety issues I raised, in particular about the quality of roads from an engineering point of view, be taken into consideration.

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