Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First, I commend Deputy Dooley on his introduction of this Bill. It is very welcome and I commend him on his work. I certainly look forward to the forthcoming proposals from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport on the Bill and some amendments thereto. I listened to the sister of a hit-and-run victim who appeared on radio this morning. Obviously, she and her family are heartbroken by the events. There is a definite need to tighten up this area of law. Consequently, I look forward to the proposals to be introduced from the aforementioned Department.

A matter that Members must also consider is that of historic hit-and-run events that never have been solved. There are hundreds and possibly thousands of families nationwide whose loved ones have been victims of hit-and-run incidents over the years and who still do not know who was responsible. Much has been heard about historic cases in the context of Northern Ireland and the victims of the Troubles, particularly recently, and there has been much discussion of how historic cases should be dealt with. However, consideration also must be given to this matter, as there are cases in which people were killed by drivers who failed to stop at the scene perhaps 30 or 40 years ago. I have spoken to one such family and all they now seek is closure. They simply want to know what happened and who was responsible. This is a discussion Members must have and about which they must think.

I am greatly concerned by the rising number of road fatalities in 2013. It is a terrible tragedy and a major effort must be made to address it. However, it is interesting to put the current figures into context. I recently availed of the fine facilities of the National Library next door to print off the front page of a newspaper from 1973 for someone's 40th birthday. On the front page of the relevant edition of the newspaper was a headline with a photograph, unfortunately, of a fatal road traffic collision. However, it was reported that the fatality figures for 1973 were expected to exceed 600, which is an astounding figure. By the 1990s, the number of fatalities had fallen to more than 400 - I believe it was approximately 470 in 1997. While it almost sounds crass to be dishing out such statistics and numbers, as they were all people with families, that is the position from which we have come. The point that got me thinking was that in the 1970s, Irish society accepted that these were the road fatality figures at which one would arrive each year. In the 1990s, society accepted that 400-plus would be the annual fatality rate each year, these figures of course do not include the huge number of serious injuries. In a way, we must ask ourselves what level of road fatalities does society accept today. Clearly, as a society, we make a choice to permit or to accept a certain number, because were we 100% serious about reducing the number of road fatalities to the absolute minimum, we would implement what would be perceived by the wider public as draconian measures. A debate in this regard is needed and consideration must be given to what more can be done, even if it is extreme, to tackle this problem. It is a huge problem, as is anything that causes the deaths of hundreds of Irish people every year as well as thousands of other serious injuries.

Perhaps we are not embracing technology enough. There is technology available that would definitely help to reduce the number of road fatalities. For example, speed limiters could easily be fitted to vehicles. Why do we have a speed limit of 120 km/h on motorways when some cars can travel at twice that speed? That does not make sense. We need to think about this issue. Why can one have on Irish roads a 2.5 litre engine in a sports car that can travel at more than 200 km/h?

Vehicle immobilisation technology for testing breath alcohol levels is used in some countries. Perhaps we need to consider using it. It means that a person who has alcohol in his or her system and is intoxicated in terms of driving a motor vehicle would have his or her car immobilised.

Tachographs are used in trucks. Why not use them in other vehicles? A father with whom I spoke recently and whose son is 16 years of age is hugely worried about him being on the road next year. He is worried that no matter how much he speaks to him and tries to educate him, sometime he will get the urge to drive at speed. He wants to know, when he is not watching, what his son is up to. Perhaps a tachograph in a car would act as a deterrent to speeding. I am not speaking only about young motorists. If and when a motorist is pulled in, the garda could look at the tachograph to see what speeds the motorist has been doing and measure his or her behaviour on the road.

The issue of cameras has been mentioned. From time to time we have sitting duck scenarios as cameras are located in areas in which there are no massive risks and many motorists are caught as soft targets. One of the problems with the system of fines is that it is not progressive. A person travelling at 62 km/h in a 60 km/h zone will be fined €80, while a person travelling at 96 km/h in the same zone will also be fined €80. If there was a €5 fine for every kilometre a person exceeded the limit, a person travelling at 65 km/h in a 60 km/h area would be fined €25, while the person exceeding the speed limit by 50 would be fined €250. I am sure there would be revenue implications, but it would be a fairer system.

I welcome the announcement made yesterday by the speed limit review body. It is very positive and contains some very practical proposals. It is welcome that on some rural roads the 80 km/h speed limit signs will be removed. It is important that local authorities have the ability to change speed limits on a one-off basis. I have had people in my constituency ask if the speed limit at a certain location would be reduced. I would then ask the local authority to reduce the speed limit from, say, 80 km/h to 60 km/h because there had recently been three, four or five accidents. The response I receive is that it can only be done as part of a county-wide speed limit review. We need to look at streamlining the process involved in reducing speed limits at individual locations in order that local authorities could do so on a one-off basis without having to undertake the huge amount of administrative work currently involved. I ask the Minister to examine this issue in conjunction with his colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan. That would be a practical step. There are locations at which there are glaringly inappropriate speed limits, but we are powerless to do anything about them until a county-wide speed limit review takes place, which is an expensive process.

I am sorry to deviate from Deputy Timmy Dooley's Bill, but I am sure the Minister will welcome the overall discussion on road safety and the number of road fatalities. In regard to Garda vehicles, we need to create a specific offence in the case of those who deliberately ram such vehicles. We have had cases of fatalities where Garda vehicles were rammed and many recent cases of gardaí being injured while driving or being a passenger in a Garda vehicle. We need to come down hard on people who do this. Gardaí are the people who uphold and enforce the law. That their vehicles should be rammed and their lives put in danger is utterly unacceptable. We need serious custodial sentences for those who do this. This is an area on which I am working in terms of preparing a Bill to deal with the issue. It is one we need to discuss because Garda vehicles are being rammed more frequently than we like to think.

I commend Deputy Timmy Dooley for his work in this area.

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