Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bill and the Minister's initiative to close off the loophole referred to. This is a short piece of legislation but it is no less important than lengthier pieces of legislation from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. The Minister will be aware of my particular interest in this issue in that I have previously raised the penalty points issue with him on the floor of this House and in a private capacity. In my dealings with the Minister, whether as a member of the transport committee or as a Member of this House dealing with legislation or constituency matters, I have always found him to be very proactive. I compliment him on the work he has done up to now.

This legislation is narrow in focus in that it deals with one particular element. The Minister will know that for the past number of weeks I have been raising an equally worrying issue in relation to penalty points, namely, the number of cases being thrown out of courts across the country. This problem is not confined to any particular court or district. There is a great deal of uncertainty and a lack of confidence in relation to the implementation of the penalty points system and road traffic legislation generally. As a member of the transport committee I have asked the Chairman, Deputy John O'Mahony, that the committee undertake a review of the penalty points system. As a result of whistleblower revelations, cases being thrown out of court and address of this loophole by the Minister, there is a drip, drip, drip erosion in confidence in relation to the State's commitment to make our roads safer by changing people's behaviour. We know that when people change their behaviour the roads are safer.

I recently learned through the Department of Justice and Equality that, unfortunately, since 2009 approximately 1,400 cases relating to penalty points have been thrown out of court for one reason or another. This arises not because these cases were isolated incidences but because there are systemic issues in relation to the delivery of the penalty points system, which I think needs to be reviewed. I have asked the Chairman of the transport committee to engage with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and his colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Fitzgerald, an Garda Síochána, the operators of GoSafe and the legal practitioners about what is happening in our courts and how we can improve the system. I acknowledge the issues that have arisen with the current legislation.

I am hoping that the transport committee will undertake a comprehensive review of the penalty points system to see if there are other anomalies arising in relation to the issuing of penalty points, including who can and cannot give evidence in court in this regard, the relationship between the driver and an Garda Síochána and the legal standing in this regard. If there are anomalies that are preventing the application of penalty points to the licences of people who have committed road traffic offences then they need to be addressed. I do not say that as a slight against the Department, the Minister or his predecessor because it is not today or yesterday this issue arose. I understand that review will be commenced after Christmas, which I welcome.

If one goes to the Oireachtas Library and takes out the local newspaper from Deputy Kitt's constituency, Deputy Durkan's constituency or my own constituency one will see in the courts pages the list of cases being churned out by the District Court every week. There is a real problem in this area and I would like to see it addressed. I would also welcome the Minister's views on that matter. My concern is for the people who accept their penalty points and pay their fines unlike others who go to the courts and say they did not receive the notification, leaving the judge, because of a lack of proof, with no option but to dismiss the case. I do not doubt that some people will not have received their notifications but I very much doubt that all of the 1,400 people mentioned earlier did not receive them. That is a bit far fetched. There are people who were legitimately detected by the speed detection vans whose penalty points were not properly processed and, for want of a better phrase, got away with it. This leaves a sour taste in the mouths of those who accepted their penalty points which resulted, in turn, in their insurance premiums increasing. In some instances, people were put off the road, and rightly so. As I said during a Topical Issue debate last week, part of which the Minister was in the House for, the law needs to be seen to be fair regardless of who the person is, from where he or she comes, what District Court area the case is heard or by whom the offender is represented. The law must be seen to be fair. As things stand in terms of this issue, it is not.

Another issue that the Minister might consider in future legislation is one that has been raised with me, as I am sure it has been with the Minister and all other Members, by a person with a physical disability - namely, that of non-disabled people knowingly parking in spaces designated for people with disabilities. I hate using the term “disabled parking space”. The parking space is not disabled; it is the person driving the car who may have a physical disability. Will consideration be given to examining some measure which would encourage people to change their parking behaviour? People who take up spaces to which they are not entitled often use excuses such as “I was only running in for a few minutes,” or “As I was only leaving the car there for a while, I left the engine running.” Such actions deprive people with physical disabilities of the right to go about their business.

I have raised before, both here in the Chamber and at the transport committee with the Minister’s predecessor, the issue of how statistics for road traffic fatalities are reported. Some work was done on it. Will the Minister give us an update on how it is progressing? The rising number of road fatalities is stark and needs to be tackled. A statistic below that, however, is life-changing injury, which needs to be included in the overall statistical picture presented by the Department and the Road Safety Authority, RSA, every quarter. A life-changing injury means the victim is no longer independent and is relying on a family member, causing upheaval to someone’s life. The National Rehabilitation Centre and the hospital network do fantastic work in this area. The presentation of such statistics will give a better analysis county by county as to what is happening with driver behaviour and the seriousness of accidents. There are three elements to road safety - namely, engineering, enforcement and education. An important element of education is telling people what is happening on the roads. I would appreciate it if the Minister could examine this area.

I have spoken to the chairperson of the RSA, Liz O’Donnell, about road engineering. Local authorities and the NRA, National Roads Authority, ultimately have responsibility for the engineering of our roads to ensure they are safe. There should be some sort of an exercise, either through the RSA or the Department, to examine physical road conditions and realistic speed limits. It happens across the country. One could be driving along a road with grass in the middle of it and the speed limit is 100 km/h. I accept that the Minister will point out that this the maximum speed allowable and that the motorist should drive with due care and attention. These signs, however, are dangerous. There was a suggestion to bring back the old white speed limit sign with the black line across it to emphasise that motorists should use their discretion. The sooner these are rolled out the better. Parts of the national secondary road from Killarney to Kenmare over Moll’s Gap are so narrow that they are not wide enough for one car, but there are 100 km/h signs all along it. On the other hand, one can go, as I do on my way home every evening, from the Red Cow roundabout in Dublin along the N7 in Deputy Durkan’s constituency, a three-lane road, with unrealistically low speed limits. It is just a barrel for shooting fish in terms of collecting penalty points and revenue. All people want is realistic speed limits on the roads, not ones that are a revenue-generating exercise.

We cannot have slippage in how people view the law and penalty points. When that happens, driving behaviour changes. When that changes, bad practices start to come in and then, before one knows where one is, it becomes cyclical, with road fatalities and life-changing injuries increasing. Will the Minister and his officials review this whole area of penalty points? Over the past 12 months at the Committee of Public Accounts, in the Chamber or on the street, the perception of the fairness and impartiality of the penalty points system has got a walloping. We cannot have situations where a judge - an impartial and independent adjudicator of the law - in the Cavan-Monaghan District Court claims the law is being brought into disrepute by the penalty points system and that cases under it should not be brought before his court. We cannot ignore this. While I accept this legislation has to be passed today, will the Minister come back in the new year to do a comprehensive review of the penalty points system with the transport committee with a view to introducing amending legislation to get rid of the loopholes in it? One could drive a lorry through some of these loopholes. For most people, that is unfair. All they want is to be treated fairly.

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