Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am also delighted to be able to speak on this legislation. I have not made up my mind as to whether I am going to support it. It is not because I do not want to see road safety because I do. I read about the background and context. I am very concerned about it, as I am about a lot of legislation in recent times. Information I have received states that as the Bill is in effect emergency legislation, pre-legislative scrutiny by the Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications and the Oireachtas Select Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport has not occurred. According to some reports, regulatory impact analysis is not expected for the Bill for the same reason. That is very concerning for any legislation. We know why the Minister is here today. He had only two choices - address this loophole or let it go. A total of 78,000 people are affected. It is very bad. Rushed legislation is bad legislation. We cannot cater for everything but the people who draft the legislation should try to ensure that it is read and understood through the impact assessment.

There has been no impact assessment of many pieces of legislation that have been passed recently regarding the effect on ordinary families. I support all the safety measures. One death on the roads is one death too many, particularly coming up to Christmas. It is an awful tragedy. I heard about a hit-and-run last night on the news. One accident is one too many. Much of the legislation in recent years has proved that many bad practices have been wiped out. As I said, this loophole must be filled. However, I question the cost of running Go Safe. Estimates of the cost were provided and my understanding is that the cost has gone way above that. The lads in the vans have a hard enough job in those conditions sitting in a van in all kinds of weather but they seem to be in places in my constituency where there were not that many fatalities. We were told that this was the reason they were there so I question that.

I also want to put the issue of weight restrictions on record on behalf of road hauliers. My colleague, Deputy Healy-Rae asked me to mention this. There is a derogation at present and I know the Minister has the option of renewing that. I appeal to him for the sake of business, road hauliers, employees and the families involved to continue this derogation because a pallet list on a load is make or break. It is the difference between being profitable and unprofitable and those involved are hard-pressed at the moment.

I would also ask the Minister to look at hedge cutting. We are talking about bad practices. There are aspects of the Bill regarding parking in a dangerous place. None of us can accept that somebody should park in a dangerous place. However, one might park in a very safe place but the bushes on country roads are growing to the middle of the road. Egress and access to fields, particularly for contractors and farmers, are impossible. The Government should look at the legislation that stops people from cutting roadside hedges at any time during the year. We heard Deputy Healy-Rae's brother's comments about how birds will not nest in a place if they think they will get destroyed. Birds have brains. People must be able to cut hedges all year round in the interests of safety because one has to come out to the middle of the road. Normally, agricultural machines have a long bonnet and the driver is not sitting as close to the front as they would in a car so they must come out to the middle of the road and it is highly dangerous. It is highly dangerous for tourists as well. One cannot navigate around roads. They are closed in in many parts of the country. I am referring to my constituency. We need to look at the legislation to see whether we can do something about hedge cutting. I know that submissions on this issue are being taken and they should be looked at.

I salute the staff I know in NCT centres because they work very hard. However, people cannot get an NCT test. The Minister is saying they can but I can give examples of countless cases. I have heard them on "Liveline" with Joe Duffy and people have contacted me telling me that they had been notified in early November that their NCTs are up at the end of December. However, the earliest test they can get is mid-February and sometimes March. I have spoken to the gardaí and I salute the Garda traffic corps for the work they do. I have spoken to an inspector in my area. They have said that they cannot put people off the road for this and they must try to work within the law as best they can and be liberal in their attitude. If a man going to work is stopped three times with no NCT certificate despite the fact that he has applied for a test and he is trying to be law-abiding, he could be off the road. That is a farcical situation. It is those who are on the road all time trying to make a living and look after their families who are being penalised here. The Minister must amend this because the NCT centres are running beyond their capacity and cannot manage. I want to see fairness here because the person who never goes to work or does anything is fine but the man on the road, be it a haulier or an ordinary man going to school, Mass, a match or the shops or to see Santa Claus with the kids, is affected. It is farcical that such people should be affected despite the fact that they cannot get the NCT test. They have got their car pre-checked in garages and have paid for it and they have to wait for the NCT. That is not viable.

In his reply, could the Minister clarify the following matter? In the NCT charter, which is on the website of the Consumers' Association of Ireland website, it states that if a person cannot get a test within a certain length of time, they will get a free test. It also states that if they arrive at the centre at an appointed time and do not get a test within an hour, they will get a free test. Why are people not made aware of this? I am not blaming the workers who work very hard in these centres - at least the one I go to - and who are very efficient. If a person cannot get a test on the date they were given and they are supposed to get a free test, they should get it because the consumer is weighed down with regulations, as other Deputies have said. I ask the Minister to look at that.

I now turn to the issue of "L" plates and learner drivers. I recently said on the radio that-----

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