Brendan Ryan (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Labour Party will support the legislation as it passes through the Houses. This is a short Bill that has been the subject of long debate in recent months. That is understandable because drink-driving elicits strong and passionate responses from people across the country.

The Labour Party supports the Bill. I say that plainly because it is important that there be no ambiguity about the matter. There can be no condoning or making excuses for drink-driving or impaired driving due to alcohol intake. However, our support should not be taken as a signal that we believe the legislation is the silver bullet it has been presented as by the Minister. There is considerable scepticism as to whether legislation such as this is likely to have a significant impact, in particular if it is regarded as a stand-alone solution that will end drink-driving on our roads. The Minister should listen to such scepticism rather than painting as a defender of drink-driving anyone who dares to question his logic.

Drink-driving is not the only cause of dangerous driving. Speeding is a major problem, as is using a mobile phone or tablet device while driving. Driving a car that is not roadworthy is an almost overlooked cause of accidents and poorly maintained roads contribute significantly to the problem. Those are all major issues that need to be further tackled in order to make our roads safer and to minimise the carnage thereon.

The scepticism to which I referred exists because many Members do not believe there is sufficiently robust existing enforcement of road traffic legislation. Members know statistics produced by the Garda Síochána on the matter cannot be trusted, which further feeds such scepticism. The Labour Party believes there should be more enforcement of existing legislation but we need to be able to trust the enforcement, the statistics and the Garda. The breath test scandal has ruptured the trust in Garda traffic enforcement. It reinforced the view that the Garda is after figures and targets rather than apprehending those who are breaking the law and driving over the blood alcohol limit.

One of the biggest bugbears for many is the placing of speed vans in areas with low speed limits, such as 50 km/h zones, to try to catch people driving at perhaps 52 km/h, 53 km/h or 54 km/h. I know of places in Balbriggan and Balrothery in north county Dublin, to name only two areas, where such speed vans are regularly located. Those locations are not speeding or accident black spots and local people know that. It seems the locations are strategically chosen to catch people driving at slightly over a very low speed limit. Local people believe the speed vans are placed there to raise revenues and meet penalty point targets. When we hear about scandals such as the breath tests, such negative views are reaffirmed in the public mind. Trust is broken and the ability to enforce existing legislation, let alone new traffic measures, becomes even more difficult.

Many people have an increasing lack of trust in the Minister and the Government. There is great scepticism that the vague commitments the Minister gave to Fine Gael regarding the enhancement of rural transport will be acted upon. Improving rural transport is vital in order to sustain all elements of rural life, including the ability for rural people to socialise in their local town and perhaps enjoy a couple of drinks in their local pub. There are real problems of social isolation in rural communities. These are real problems, not imagined or exaggerated ones. Large parts of my constituency of Dublin North are rural and in them I see the effects of rural isolation. Many who live in rural isolation have few social outlets and no transport available to them other than their cars. As a nation, we do not do enough to connect people with their communities. There are pockets of Roscommon and Leitrim where communities have organised themselves to provide transport options for those living in isolation. Rural transport initiatives to bring people to a pub or community centre for an occasional night out or older people to do their shopping could meaningfully strengthen our communities. The Minister should reflect on the role his Department might play in achieving that goal. The State could do much more, we should do more and it is vital that the Minister does much more. We want the Minister to articulate more details of those plans before the Bill passes Final Stage and provide greater clarity.

I have spoken to the families of people who have lost their lives as a result of drink-driving and many of them are in the Gallery this evening. Their pain is evident and their desire to reduce the number of such deaths on our roads is entirely understandable. That desire is genuinely felt by all Members. My party and I have been convinced by speaking to the families and hearing from the Road Safety Authority that this legislation may help to save some lives.

It will change the existing link between being over the limit and receiving penalty points to a link between being over the limit and disqualification from driving. This has the potential to further alter people's behaviour, which, it is to be hoped, will save lives. As I said previously, the legislation is not a silver bullet. Those reckless individuals who drink to excess and get behind the wheel of a car, leading to tragic consequences and carnage, will probably not be dissuaded from their criminal actions by the Bill. They are not dissuaded by the existing sanctions of disqualification attached to blood alcohol levels greater than 80 mg. However, any measure which might prevent even one death on our roads is a measure we support and, accordingly, we will vote in favour of the legislation. However, we do not accept that this legislation alone will fix the problem the Minister is determined to fix. I appeal to him to resist the urge to continue belittling anyone who questions his approach and instead to try to work in a more meaningful, cross-party manner to try to tackle some of the most challenging social issues we face.

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