James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We must get serious about road safety in this country. We were going in a good direction, with the number of road deaths in this country declining significantly. Behind every statistic is the death of somebody's sister, brother, mother or father. The number of road deaths increased last year, and this year the statistics indicate the number has increased further. I welcome the intent of Deputy Broughan's amendment, but we are going nowhere without enforcement. Earlier we discussed people being brought to court, being convicted but effectively leaving without sanction, despite one being handed down by the judge, because they leave without the endorsement being put on their driver licences. We can have all the legislation in the world but if there is no enforcement, we will continue to have deaths on the roads.

As I said, significant progress was made in recent years. In the late 1970s, almost 800 people per year were dying on our roads, and the number of cars was only a fraction of the number we have now. However, we are going in the wrong direction. There must be greater enforcement. That means proper funding for enforcement with not only the Garda, but also the Road Safety Authority being properly funded, and ensuring there are proper protections on the roads. For example, I visited Oulart national school in Enniscorthy last week. Children must run the gauntlet of trucks and speeding cars on a regional road because there is no funding to install road safety measures. That is unacceptable as well. The enforcement side of this must be examined, as well as ensuring we have proper road safety measures. I welcome the intent of the amendment, and there must be further measures. However, without the funding for proper enforcement, all the legislation in the world will not achieve anything.

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