Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this opportunity to speak on the Road Traffic Bill. It is very important legislation and I am glad to see that after a series of delays over recent months we are eventually getting to raise the matters that are included in the Bill. It is important to point out that legislation that provides for the safety of our roads is always welcome given Ireland's generally poor road safety record in the past, although in recent years the number of fatalities on our roads has fallen. The work of the Road Safety Authority, RSA, and the Garda, but especially the Garda traffic corps, has contributed to the decline in road deaths.

However, we cannot become complacent and consider that the battle has been won, far from it. At the start of September 2016 it was reported that 138 people had died on our roads so far this year. This represents a 20% increase on the same period in 2015. That figure is shocking. The loss of 138 people on our roads is equally shocking. In the past month alone we have seen too many tragic cases of lives lost, including in my own constituency. The Automobile Association, AA has voiced concerns that road safety had dropped down the list of priorities since the financial crash and we certainly cannot afford to become complacent. It is clear that the Garda traffic corps is not sufficiently resourced, leaving the good work in danger of becoming underdone. Both the current and the previous chairpersons of the Road Safety Authority and its CEO, Ms Moyagh Murdock, have called for increased resources for the Garda traffic corps and it is important that these calls are heeded. Personnel numbers at the traffic corps have been reduced over recent years from 1,200 to just over 700. The CEO of the RSA has said that she felt this reduction had led to complacency among the public when it comes to drink driving. Last month it was reported in the media that the number of gardaí posted to the Garda traffic corps dropped by 5% in the 18 months until May 2016. That represents 711 officers assigned to the traffic corps in May 2016, which is a decline of 38 gardaí since the end of 2014.

The legislation which we debate today cannot be a success if this is the current state of play because it calls for gardaí to test for the presence of drugs and to police speed limits. If An Garda Síochána is poorly resourced this legislation will not have the desired effect, particularly as a deterrent. The head of the Garda traffic corps has indicated that a number of gardaí have been, or are due to be, transferred to the traffic corps this year. I would be interested to know if the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport is aware of any targets that the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald may have for the allocation of personnel to the traffic corps. If he does know then perhaps he could tell us. Any proposed increase must be substantial. The AA has cautioned that due to the huge drop in personnel it would take a very long time to bring the traffic corps back to where it should be. This needs to be prioritised by both the Ministers, Deputies Ross and Fitzgerald. While I welcome many of the measures contained in the Bill we need to prioritise the resourcing of the Garda traffic corps if these measures, and any other road safety measures, are to be successful in any shape or form.

I will now turn to the measures within the Bill which concern the speed limits in residential areas and which have come from campaigning work by the group "Jake's Legacy". Jake Brennan, as we know, was a six-year-old boy who was tragically killed when he was knocked down by a car as he played outside his home in 2014. Since then Jake's parents, Roseann and Christopher, along with their family and friends, have campaigned tirelessly for reduced speed limits in residential areas and they are to be commended for their excellent work. In February 2015 my colleague, Deputy Ellis, sponsored a Private Members' Bill calling for mandatory 20 km/h per hour limits in certain residential areas in line with the "Jake's Legacy" campaign. Critics of the measures, which were proposed in Sinn Féin's Private Members' motion had complained that the 20 km/h per hour limit is too slow.

The limit of 20 km/h was chosen because it is so slow. A pedestrian who is hit by a car at 20 km/h has a much better chance of survival than if he or she was hit by a car travelling at a higher speed. At the time the previous Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Paschal Donohoe supported the Bill in principle so I am disappointed to see that the measures proposed in this legislation are much weaker than many of us had hoped for. Giving local authorities the option to introduce speed limits of 20 km/h hour is progress but it is a fact that there already exists an option to impose a 30 km/h limit in residential areas. In many areas this option has not been enforced by local authorities. Sinn Féin feels that having legislation to back up these measures is vital because voluntary measures have not been taken up thus far or enforced by local councils in the past. We see no reason why the introduction of a lower speed limit would change that. We need to ensure that local authorities have sufficient resources to implement other measures for traffic calming in residential areas. Lowering the speed limit alone is not sufficient. We need to ensure that proper, practical and physical measures such as speed ramps, chicanes and other traffic calming measures are also installed as required to ensure the safety of all road users in residential areas, especially pedestrians.

I welcome the measures in part two of the Act which create the offence of drug driving for cannabis, cocaine and heroin regardless of whether or not the driver appears to be impaired. Such a measure can only improve safety on our roads. For too long we had a ludicrous situation where drug drivers could operate vehicles relatively undisturbed despite the obvious dangers. Again, we need to ensure that the gardaí are facilitated with sufficient resources. I would be interested to know what additional resources are to be made available to allow for this. Drugs, as we all know, have been a scourge in this State for so long and the effects of drug use can be devastating for users, their families and all our communities. Ensuring the presence of drugs, regardless of proof of impairment, will send a strong message to those who think it is acceptable to use drugs and drive. I hope this measure would bring about a change in attitude similar to the one that has been achieved in recent years with the introduction of stricter drink-driving laws.

I support the measures that propose to continue the practice, which has been in place for some time now, to ensure that drivers who have been disqualified from driving in the State are also disqualified in the North and across the water in Britain. I am in favour of the expansion of such measures across Europe. I would also like to see the same approach taken to penalty points between the State, the North and across the water in Britain. I live in a Border county and am well aware of the issues that can arise when driving penalties that have been imposed in the North are not recognised in the State and vice versa. This lack of accountability can lead to some drivers driving irresponsibly. When this legislation was debated in the Seanad the previous Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport rejected this proposal. He had said that the process of bringing about such a change was complicated.

However, I believe it is a matter that we should pursue in the interest of road safety and cross-Border co-operation.

I welcome the Bill and I believe the legislation is good but without proper funding and resources, it will not be as effective as we need it to be. It will end up not being worth the paper on which it is written if we do not back it up with proper funding for local authorities to implement the speed limit recommendations, traffic calming measures on roads, physical resources such as ramps, chicanes, signage, etc., and Garda resources. While I welcome the legislation, it could end up being a toothless tiger if we do not put the funding and resources behind it. I look forward to contributing to the debate again at a later stage.

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