Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to share my time with Deputy Michelle Mulherin as we share the same constituency.

I commend Members of all parties for supporting this legislation. It is a credit to them because we cannot compromise on road safety.

Deputy Mattie McGrath referred to a derogation for hauliers. I have raised that issue with the Minister who has given me a good hearing and I know that he will do the right thing. I thank him for giving the issue so much thought. He understands there is a problem in this regard and I hope he will deal with it when he gets an opportunity to do so.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice made a valid point which I also made a number of years ago when I was on the opposite side of the House. It is an issue that should be considered at European level. I refer to manufacturers producing high performance cars, despite legislation in every European country prohibiting vehicles being driven faster than 100 km/h. These cars can reach twice that speed. Sometimes I do not agree with the legislation produced in the Europe and Union and hope the Minister will ask at European level why manufacturers are allowed to produce high performance cars when legislation in most countries restrict the speeds at which they can drive. If we can land people on the moon, it is not impossible to make cars that can only go as fast as the speed limit.

When this problem arose, the Minister was attending an important meeting in Brussels. He immediately asked his officials to deal with the issue by contacting the Attorney General and preparing the necessary legislation, which we are now considering. He did an excellent job in solving a problem that was not of his making and I commend him for closing the loophole.

We have made considerable progress in reducing the number of road deaths. Last year there were 181 which was 181 too many. However, 365 people, or one person per day, were killed in 2006, while 640 were slaughtered on the roads in 1972. We have, therefore, made considerable headway. To give credit where it is due, the previous Fianna Fáil Government brought forward legislation to deal with this issue. As a consumer and practising politician who lives in the west, I do not like penalty points, but I acknowledge that they have slowed me down and that they have saved many lives by slowing others down. That is why I compliment Opposition Deputies for supporting the Bill. This is a question of road safety and saving lives.

I urge motorists to drive slowly over the Christmas period. We do not want the local priest, doctor or garda knocking on a door at 3 a.m. to tell a mother or a father, a brother or a sister, an uncle or an aunt that a loved one has been killed on the road. Let everyone enjoy a peaceful Christmas without people being killed on the roads. I have attended too many funerals during the years because of tragic deaths which could have been avoided.

For the sake of road safety, it is important that secure legislation be in place and that we obey the law. This is a technical Bill which closes a loophole to ensure people can have confidence in the law.

A number of valid issues were raised by Opposition speakers in regard to penalty points. The Minister is someone who listens. He has a conscience and knows how people have to live. I have confidence that he and his officials will review the penalty points regime to determine how well it is working. This is not about money; it is about road safety. I do not like speed cameras or penalty points, but, as Deputy Willie Penrose will know as somebody who travels to Dublin from the west on a regular basis, we have to slow down because of the speed camera vans. That proves that the legislation works. People will obey the law if it is seen to be fair. They may say judges make decisions in court. Judges have a job to do which they do very well. If they find that legislation which has passed through the House is flawed, they have a duty to protect the citizen.

They have a duty to ensure that the legislation enacted by the Oireachtas is proper legislation. I would not be critical of a judge who reviews and makes a decision on penalty points or the law in this country. That is their job and we have put them in that position. That is the reason they do it and they do it very well.

I wish to compliment my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Paschal Donohoe. I was in the Department before he was appointed and he has done an excellent job. He uses common sense. He is a man who sees what must be done and ensures it is done. When he saw this problem he dealt with it quickly.

The Deputies in the Opposition who will support this legislation are doing the right thing. Sometimes in politics one must do the right thing. I compliment them. We might fight with one another in the House occasionally, but when something is right for the common good, everybody must support it. I also compliment all the previous speakers. I did not hear anybody say that road safety is not an issue or that there should not be penalty points or a law to protect people on the roads.

There were 181 deaths on the roads last year. That is a lot of people, a lot of families and a lot of hurt. Many people in this country have suffered. In previous years the number was 640, so we are making progress. We all hope the time will come when no person will be killed on the roads. Sometimes when I see accidents where people have been killed on the road I often wonder if they might be suicides and whether they should be recorded in the same way as accidents. It is an issue that should be considered.

Ultimately, the laws we are introducing are working. I compliment the Minister on the part he has played and for closing down this loophole as quickly as possible. I also thank the Members opposite for their support.

See this speech in context