Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister will be familiar with the survey released today that demonstrates road users are more likely to lose their lives in counties where the fewest penalty points are issued. County Monaghan, for example, has one of the lowest rates of penalty point issuance in the State but it is had more fatal accidents than any other county, with 13 per 100,000. County Kerry has had relatively few penalty points issued but its roads are among the most dangerous. There were nine fatal accidents per 100,000. There is a similar pattern in County Donegal. The Minister and I are well aware that speeding is by far the most common cause of the issuing of penalty points, and it is usually at the root of death and injury on the roads. The Road Safety Authority was unable to comment on the figures. I hope the Minister will be able to shed some light on them.

The county I am most familiar with, County Clare, is the one where penalty points are most likely to be issued to motorists. As a result, it has one of the lowest rates of death and injury on the roads. The figures suggest that a falling off in Garda enforcement in recent years is the main reason behind the statistics that have been put forward. AA Roadwatch is also of the view that there has been a reduction in the level of enforcement.

The Minister is very familiar with the interest group PARC, which has done excellent work highlighting the concerns of citizens, particularly those affected by death and injury on the roads. It continues to make the point that the falling off in Garda numbers, particularly in the traffic corps, is affecting significantly the rate of death and injury on the roads. The latest figures from the Garda suggest there was a 7% decrease between 2013 and 2014 in the size of the traffic corps. There has been an overall decrease of approximately 21% since 2011. That sets the stage for what is happening.

The survey brings into very clear focus a correlation between the issuance of penalty points and a reduced rate of death and injury on the roads. That was always expected to happen. It is the reason the Gatso vans were introduced initially, and then the GoSafe vans. It was a way of bolstering or increasing the level of detection. It was not meant to be the only method of detecting poor driver behaviour: it is meant to work in conjunction with an effective traffic corps as part of the work of the Garda.

While the GoSafe vans are working reasonably well in some counties, there are issues. The Minister is familiar with them, including those associated with the application of penalty points and the fact that, in some instances, District Court judges are interpreting the law in a particular manner, resulting in many of the cases being thrown out. If one considers the issues associated with the GoSafe vans and the associated litigation, in addition to the reduction in the size on the traffic corps, one realises they are leading to circumstances in which the Government will have to intervene, both by bolstering the law from the perspective of the GoSafe vans and by increasing the level of enforcement. An increase in the size of the traffic corps is warranted at this stage. I am anxious to hear the Minister's views on how he believes the matter can be addressed.

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