Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. The measures in the Bill will enhance safety on Irish roads. The fact that there has been a 65.7% fall in road deaths in Ireland between 1997 and 2012 shows that Ireland has made huge strides in reducing road deaths under successive Governments. The strategic and targeted nature of the approach has been very successful. However, we can never become complacent about road safety.

This legislation is welcome and timely. It places an emphasis on road safety and serious injury, which is just as significant an issue. Every motorist has to renew his or her own efforts to drive safely. The fundamental issue is that the driving environment is one that is constantly in a state of flux. While there has been a significant improvement in the reduction of road fatalities, the numbers remain stubbornly high and, regrettably, are creeping slightly upwards for 2013.

I want to pay tribute to Noel Brett, CEO of the Road Safety Authority. I have had a number of dealings with Mr. Brett throughout his tenure as CEO of the Road Safety Authority and I have found him to be a most impressive individual who has worked tremendously hard in his role. Indeed, Mr. Brett can be proud that, as he leaves his position for newer pastures, he leaves a very good legacy. He has heightened awareness with regard to road safety, and the downward trend in fatalities during his tenure is a tribute to him.

This Bill will have an effect on road safety by targeting key areas. It strengthens the penalty points system and reinforces the driver learning process. It is my view that driver education is key. I believe we should start teaching young people good driving habits while they are still at school. Such an approach may take a number of years to be implemented but it is undoubtedly the way forward. Comprehensive training in all aspects of motoring, such as skid control, hazard awareness and driving at different times of the year, delivered as part of the school curriculum in transition year, can only pay dividends in terms of improving road safety and driver behaviour.

I have worked with a constituent on this principle over the past number of years. County Clare native Kieran O'Brien established a company in 2008 called the Irish School of Excellence, which provides this type of training for transition year students in Irish secondary schools. The driver education programme, as delivered by the Irish School of Excellence, is in 21% of our secondary schools throughout the State. Since 2001, 70,000 students have completed the programme and, as a result, it is the largest driver education programme in the country. The programme is delivered by young, exciting staff who can relate to teenagers, and it takes place over a six-week to eight-week period at a cost of €50. The programme hires local driver instructors for each school, which creates work for instructors. All students during the course get to do the following: practice their theory test; learn about green energy and driving; listen to gardaí give talks on road safety; learn how to buy a car, tax it and insure it; be taught how to use sat-nav systems; be taught how to drive a car; put on beer goggles to give the effect of drink driving; and learn basic maintenance such as changing a wheel, changing oil and so on. They also spend half a day in a live court setting, where they can see the consequences of drink driving, speeding and other driving offences. This is a very practical course, which why it has been so successful. I would like to see this template form part of the curriculum in all our secondary schools. Perhaps the Minister might take this on board and, in conjunction with the Department of Education and Skills, set about rolling this programme out to all secondary schools throughout the State.

In light of the fact that our road network has changed so significantly over recent years, I believe learner drivers should be taught how to drive on motorways. It seems contradictory to ban learner drivers from driving on motorways until they pass their driving test.

It is a skill in itself to be able to navigate the motorway network, deal with merging traffic, changing lanes and so on. It might be helpful if a designated number of the compulsory driving lessons were set aside specifically to cover motorway driving, with the latter also incorporated into the practical driving test.

Last Saturday I travelled to Dublin to attend what has been generally described as the best ever all-Ireland hurling final, in which my native county of Clare took on Cork. I take this opportunity to congratulate the victorious team and management on a breathtaking performance, of which we in Clare are very proud. Both sets of travelling supporters met in Portlaoise on the way to the match, which resulted in huge traffic delays. There is a need for proper traffic management on the occasion of major sporting events. It took some supporters five hours to get from Clare to Dublin last Saturday.

See this speech in context