Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)

There seems to be a fundamental shift of local authority functions to new bodies such as Irish Water and, in the case of this Bill, transferring commercial vehicle roadworthiness testing to the Road Safety Authority, RSA. The replacing of local authorities as the agency responsible in this area is a retrograde step. Local authorities have been starved of funding but have still managed to deliver excellent services. There is an old saying that one does not fix what is not broken, and by and large, the testing of vehicles and their roadworthiness is borne out by that slogan. There is a real danger that the centralisation of these services will lead to job losses and a lack of access for local people. This is not about a better and safer service but the cutting of costs and, in the long run, it is part of a privatisation policy which Labour and Fine Gael is driving both in the short and long term. Centralising everything makes the Government's agenda easier and putting everything on a automated freefone service makes the lives of citizens a misery. It will undoubtedly lead to a deterioration of the service.

The Government's plans for the water system and associated charges reflects Fine Gael's entire political basis and its wish to end the State provision of services because of the private sector's thirst for profit. I cannot see how safety is served by that agenda. These changes would do nothing radical to the system except make the process less user-friendly and accountable. The Road Safety Authority, RSA, will not run test centres. That is not to say that certain provisions of this Bill do not have merit. The problem is these are premised on the licensing and testing coming under the RSA ambit, and that is not helpful in the sustainable provision of good services.

The IMPACT trade union has stated that this proposal flies in the face of an OECD report on public service in Ireland, which indicated that local authorities should be used more and not less in the provision of services like this. There is no anecdotal or other evidence to support the Government's proposals, as colleagues have rarely reported any difficulties with the current model. The Government's proposals are ideologically driven and a devious attempt to usher in softly less democratic and public control of services in exchange for private profit. A saving of €4.5 million is touted as one of the great benefits but despite knowing better, I am surprised by this. I am repeatedly shocked by the Government's willingness to herald with trumpets the savings of a few million euro when it is wasting massive amounts elsewhere. This begs the question of how much of the saving is based on a transfer of funding responsibility from the State to the hard-pressed people getting their commercial vehicles tested. They will give millions of euro every year to the RSA in testing alone, and who is to say the fees will not be increased.

The provisions around better testing standards, training and equipment are good, and I have no problem with them. Nevertheless, they are the fig leaf on which this very rotten deal is being sold. There is nothing to stop the State placing more standardised requirements on local authorities, implementing a database or keeping better track of licences issued. There is nothing to stop it putting in place measures to improve Garda enforcement except the great desire to cut everything possible from the Garda. This will also lead to a lessening in the role of councillors. The Minister of State has made representations to local authorities on these and other issues, and he and others always had great access because of councillors. Rules and regulations can be improved by the local authority, with road safety being the primary consideration. There have been significant strides made in road safety, with the appointment of Mr. Gay Byrne to the RSA an enormous contribution over the years. Speed checks have also improved safety, and it is welcome to see those vehicles on the main highways.

There have been media programmes covering malpractice at national car test, NCT, centres, but that is not the fault of local authorities. Private firms are contracted for this work and although a programme detailed malpractice in the Ballymun centre, that was not the fault of the local council. Part of the agenda being driven here is to blame the local authorities to make easier the transfer to the RSA. Nobody disputes that proper checks and balances are required. What will be the cost of the transfer of staff and expertise, as well as setting up the new RSA centre? Staff and expertise are required but what will be the cost of moving the process from the people who were on the ground in the local authorities? There will be a cost to the inconvenience, no matter where the location, as people will have to be moved.

Under the Good Friday Agreement, signed by this Government in this State in 1998, the House recognises the importance of measures to facilitate the re-integration of prisoners into the community by providing support both prior to and after release, including assistance directed towards availing of employment opportunities, re-training, reskilling and further education. The agreement recognises the political context of the conflict which occurred in Ireland between 1960 and the signing of the agreement, and that actions carried out by IRA volunteers were politically motivated. As such, IRA prisoners were political prisoners and following the ceasefire they were released from prison as part of a process of peace building. I will seek an amendment to exclude people covered under the Good Friday Agreement from any of the offences listed. The Government's commitment should be in line with that of previous Governments. I will set out my stall on a number of other amendments at a later stage.

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