Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Broughan for raising this issue. When I saw his name, I hoped his questions had been answered. I will track the information for him. There was a commitment to get the information for him and I will track that as best I can. As the Deputy knows, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, is in Brussels at the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council today. He sends his apologies. That is why I am taking this Topical Issue matter.

The fixed charge notice and penalty points system has, in general, operated very well since its introduction in 2002 and has enjoyed wide public support. This is evidenced by the fact that over 80% of those who receive a fixed charge notice pay the specified amount within the prescribed period. The system plays a very important role in enhancing road safety. The system of penalty points was first introduced in the Road Traffic Act 2002. The main goal of the system is not to penalise people but to make them more aware of unsafe driving behaviour, to influence and improve driver behaviour and to reduce the level of deaths and serious injuries on roads.

The key to reducing injuries and fatalities on a road is to continue to change driver behaviour. To date this year, 147 fatalities have been recorded. While there have been 33 fewer fatalities since this date last year, a lot of work remains to be done to reduce further the number of fatalities on roads, and we can all play a part in achieving this aim.

The role of the Road Safety Authority in the production of road safety information statistics is enshrined in the Road Safety Authority Act 2006. The research department of the Road Safety Authority is responsible for the production of road safety information and statistics. The role of the research department is to collect collision statistics and publish reports to understand how, when, where and why collisions happen to prevent them from recurring. It also promotes and participates in multidisciplinary research projects at national and EU level to inform road safety policy and road safety communications and ultimately reduce collisions.

Statistics on penalty points by offence, including those relating to drink-driving and dangerous driving, are readily available on the Road Safety Authority website. It publishes a monthly breakdown of drivers by number of penalty points, by number of penalty points and county, and the number of drivers issued with fixed charge notices for penalty points offences broken down by offence and by county.

The Deputy will appreciate that statistics should always be interpreted with caution. It should be noted, for example, that points data, broken down by county, do not correspond to where the original road traffic offence took place. The points data just state where the driver is domiciled. Therefore, it is not possible to link definitively the points awarded to a specific county as having been incurred while committing an offence in that county. A driver may have been detected committing an offence in Dublin, for example, but because the address on his or her licence is in Kildare, the licensing authority that originally issued the licence, the points will be attributed to County Kildare.

The Department of Transport provides to the Road Safety Authority analysis reports on penalty points and offences. All statistics on drink-driving and dangerous driving, including the surrender of driving licences, are provided on a request-only basis to the Road Safety Authority, but the Department is working with it with a view to extending the monthly reports to include statistics on all court endorsements, including convictions and disqualifications for drink-driving and dangerous driving.

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that it is envisaged that this will be automated and operational in the new year and I will ask that the Road Safety Authority publish this information on a monthly basis on its website. Targeting road user behaviour through education, engineering and enforcement, known as the three Es, has been the cornerstone of our improved road safety record to date.

I am satisfied that our current road safety strategy and continued enforcement of existing road safety legislation by An Garda Síochána, together with forthcoming legislation which will focus on strengthening the law on drug-driving, among other issues, will allow Ireland to maintain progress in reducing fatalities and serious injuries on roads. As road users, we should never underestimate the power we have to help to save lives and reduce injuries on the roads. Changing driver behaviour for the better, whether it is to reduce speed, turn off our mobile phones or leave our car keys at home when we are heading out for the night over the festive period, can have a life-saving impact on our safety and the safety of others. We can all play our part in making this festive period one of the safest on record.

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