Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to make a couple of points to the Minister on the Bill as there are some important issues that it does not address. I refer specifically to section 19, which relates to the amendment of section 78A of the principal Act, namely, to ensure the motor insurance industry gives both clarity and full information details to An Garda Síochána on driver insurance policies. The details specified include the name and address of the policyholder; the period of cover; any limitations as to the use of a vehicle; the persons or the classes of persons insured; the vehicle itself and the names of any driver or the class of driver who is covered under the policy. It has been put to me by the PARC road safety organisation that the Minister should also have included the driving licence number of the policyholder and the named drivers. In view of the appalling increase in insurance, more and more young people are being put on policies as named drivers. I urge the Minister to look again at section 19.

It is intended to commence the amended provisions, of which the Bill is virtually entirely composed, when necessary administrative supports have been agreed with the insurance industry and put in place. It is expected that a more robust and targeted enforcement of uninsured driving can take place. It is very important that the full details of the driver linked to the licence is specified in that section of the legislation.

It is a cause of much frustration among people who are very committed to road safety that licence numbers of those disqualified in court are not accurately recorded and forwarded quickly enough by the courts to the Road Safety Authority, within days of conviction, as is the procedure in Northern Ireland. Currently, it seems to take the Courts Service three months to forward the information to the RSA. The identification of disqualified drivers is a significant problem if they decide to continue to drive. According to data received by the PARC organisation, a total of 96% of drivers disqualified in court do not surrender their licences to the RSA via the post office box number in Cork. Is that something the Minister could address? I accept that issues relating to the Courts Service and enforcement by An Garda Síochána is the responsibility of the Minister's colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, but they are matters that must be urgently addressed.

In one of the first Question Time appearances of the Minister he said the Department is committed to the consolidation of the Road Traffic Acts. It is striking how much of the Bill is virtually composed of a series of amendments to the Act of 2010 and all the Acts going back to 1961. Surely, the promised consolidation must be put out to tender without delay. Could it not be considered in stages, while giving priority to drink and drug driving, penalty points, driving licences and disqualification? The Minister's predecessor, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, replied to a parliamentary question a year and a half ago that the work will commence this year, which was 2015. Could the Minister comment on the matter in his reply? One could ask what is a reasonable amount of time to allow for the consolidation to be completed. Part of the problem in terms of adequate enforcement is due to the complexity of traffic law.

Another outstanding problem which has already been raised with both the Departments of Transport, Tourism and Sport and Justice and Equality, is the wording on the summonses for the Garda to prosecute drivers who fail to present their licence in court. As the Minister is aware, Judge Marie Keane dismissed all 21 cases taken by the Garda in November 2015 for this offence due to the wording not appearing on the summonses as well. She ruled that the summonses were "fundamentally flawed", because a person who comes before the court is entitled to know the consequences that flow from not having produced his or her licence. What has the Minister or his colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, done to correct the wording on the summonses so the Garda can begin to prosecute again?

The 2014 Garda Inspectorate Report, recommendation 2.10 is that a system would be introduced immediately to ensure that all penalty points are endorsed on driving licences. A parliamentary question I tabled in 2013 revealed that only 40% of defendants convicted of penalty point offences had their licence numbers recorded. Although the inspectorate considered that was an urgent matter in February 2014, another question I tabled in April 2016 revealed that more than half of those convicted in court for speeding offences in the past 27 months did not have points applied to their licence. What solutions, if any, has the Criminal Justice Working Group arrived at, and what has been the contribution of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport in that regard?

Late last year I was informed by the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, that the Courts Service has advised that there is no project under way to electronically record the non-production of a licence in court, yet we know that the manual recording of licence numbers does not happen most of the time. Figures supplied to me by way of reply to parliamentary questions showed that in the case of drink driving convictions and disqualifications between January 2013 and March 2015, just 20% of licence numbers were recorded and in the case of speeding convictions just 42% of licence numbers were recorded. What is the Minister's intention in that regard?

What progress has been made on the proposed master licence record project, an initiative to link driver licence details with vehicle registration details which was to cost just over €4 million and take three years to implement? I asked the Minister's predecessor, Deputy Donohoe, about the matter as well.

A further issue concerning the application of road safety laws is the continuing use of the court poor box for penalty point offences. A reply I received in April 2016 to a parliamentary question revealed that almost 2,000 drivers avoided points in that way over a 27-month period. That was despite a High Court judgment by Mr. Justice Gerard Hogan in February 2014 which confirmed that section 55 of the Road Traffic Act 2010 precluded District Court judges from allowing offenders to make donations to the poor box to avoid incurring points for road traffic offences. That is another reason for the judicial council Bill to be introduced as quickly as possible.

I understand that a future project is to be introduced to furnish the Garda with roadside IT devices. Will they be similar to the devices used by the PSNI which are linked to an accessible central database? Has the Minister asked his officials to examine the potential use of the new driving licence which could be used to electronically record penalty point convictions and disqualification?

I welcome the general thrust of the Bill and I am pleased it is before the House. It will be another step on the way to making the roads that bit safer. I urge the Minister to consider the points I have made on the amendments. One of the difficulties with road traffic law is that very close interaction is required with the Department of Justice and Equality. There are many examples of where there is one line Department but in the road traffic area the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport must liaise closely with the Department of Justice and Equality and they must speak with a united voice. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, has responsibility for road safety and the Road Safety Authority. I urge him to follow up on those issues.

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