Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

I very much welcome the Deputy's comments. This is certainly something we will consider in the context of the next road safety strategy which is in the process of being formulated. There are already many road safety programmes in schools, such as the Simon and Friends preschool programme, the Be Safe programme or the annual back to school campaigns. They offer a great deal of education in road safety that was not available in schools in the past, certainly not when we were in school. In addition, some local authorities have road safety officers, which is important. The proposal now being developed is to make this type of education one of the modules a student can take for the new junior certificate. It would not be compulsory but I imagine it would be very popular, particularly with young men, especially if it allowed them to do the theory test or make some progress towards getting a driving licence. Obviously, this is a matter for the Minister for Education and Skills rather than for me but it is one of the areas we are working on together. In addition, there is a possibility of making sports one of the modular subjects in the new junior certificate.

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