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

The Minister has had an opportunity to do something in conjunction with his staff in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. We have had incredible gaps over the years between the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and the Department of Justice and Equality. The upshot of it is that we still have horrendous lists of tragedies year in and year out on Irish roads.

The Minister referred also to a related matter. I proposed an amendment to the Road Traffic Act 2016 to strengthen the powers of An Garda Síochána where an unaccompanied learner driver is stopped. The Minister accepts that there is still a lacuna in the legislation in that the Garda cannot simply seize the car or ask for somebody with a driving licence to take the car back to where it is based.

The PARC road safety group stated at the time that when a garda stops a learner driver and charges him or her with driving unaccompanied, it certainly makes no sense whatever for the garda to allow the driver to continue driving unaccompanied. The Minister has acknowledged that it needs to be changed but once again we do not seem to have a sense of urgency from him in amending section 41 of the Road Traffic Act 1994. There are also matters relating to the non-payment of fines or fixed-charge notices with regard to unaccompanied drivers. It is a major area of the Minister's brief. President Higgins signed the Act into law before Christmas last year, including provisions for unaccompanied learner drivers, but the bottom line is that we are here, ten months later, still begging the Minister to take action on this. He is still dragging his heels.

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