Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. She will see from my reply that I share her sense of urgency. This matter was not covered by the Road Traffic Bill when it was dealt with in the Seanad originally. The drafting and legal problems to which I referred and the complexities that were discovered in the solution pertaining to the Road Safety Authority were immediately addressed. The amendments are being drafted and they will be in the legislation when it comes before this House for Committee Stage very early in the autumn. It just missed the cut this time, partly because we wanted to put these two new amendments into the legislation.

The Deputy can expect this problem to be addressed with a sense of urgency very early in the next session, I hope, when we come back from the recess. We acknowledge that problem, and for much too long it has not been attacked, but I think the Deputy will find it is being addressed urgently now. The issues involved are complex but the Road Traffic Bill will contain penalties and sanctions and will put on a statutory basis something that has been voluntary to insurers in the past.

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