Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is reduced already. I had better watch it so.

The Minister cannot make the analogy that those in rural Ireland are careless on the roads. We are not. We also have the problem, as I mentioned earlier, of bad roads and dangerous junctions. All such difficulties cause crashes.

I accept I am starting to repeat myself but I want to keep this alive. I would ask that the Minister give serious thought to this proposal and not drive it through. As I said, we need a bit of common sense. I re-emphasise it affects not only rural Ireland. It will hit the big towns and the city of Dublin. It will do more damage to the health of those who are stuck at home. We ask the Minister to focus on the other part of his brief - funding for roads, traffic-calming measures, proper kerbing, paving, etc., in the countryside.

The Minster, Deputy Ross, is also the Minister for tourism and he has control of Fáilte Ireland. Fáilte Ireland, in its advertising slogans abroad, invites people to come to Ireland - come into the parlour, there is a welcome there for them. It emphasises the lovely country pub with the old man on the high stool. One Easter weekend, I went to Glenbeigh and there were three men sitting on stools in the pub. They were not drinking at all and they were not smoking either. The smoking ban, which my party leader brought in, had already come in. I am guilty person in that regard. I was struck by the commentary. These men could talk, tell stories and so forth. We must not lose that part of our culture. It is invaluable and it creates tourism. There is no point in talking about the Wild Atlantic Way or ancient Hibernia. People like to drive across the country and call into the pub at crossroads or in the village, meet the locals and hear the proper stories.

The rural transport will not work. I have not spoken about them at all since I came into the Dáil but I commend the gardaí on the work they do. I sympathise with the gardaí on the ground for the hammering they are getting. They are doing their job. If one wants to be cynical about the number of breathalyser bags they claimed were used, one should ask why they could not use them. There are no cars on the road at night time and when there are no cars on the road, it gives robbers greater freedom of movement. When people go home from rural pubs, they are a hindrance to robbers but now the robbers have a clear way in the countryside because there is no one on the roads to deter them.

Gardaí do a good job and should be given flexibility. We should not come down on top of them saying they do not do their job. They are doing a good job, on which I compliment them. During the recession they took some of the biggest hits in the cut-backs. In my local town after gardaí attend a crash scene to which the emergency services are called - I hope one that does not involve a fatality - they go back to the barracks and put on the kettle. They look out the front and see emergency service personnel going to have a three-course meal. Gardaí should be shown the same respect as others who provide invaluable services.

I implore the Minister to withdraw the Bill. In any case, I wish him a happy Christmas.

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