Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The objective of this legislation is to make our roads safer by encouraging safer driving by motorists and ensuring, in so far as we can, that alcohol is no longer a factor in road deaths. It is not, as some speakers have claimed, an attack on rural or urban life or any group of persons. The purpose of the proposals is to make our roads safer for us all. Whether one is driving in west Kerry or north Louth, the same rules apply. As it stands, it is against the law to drive with a blood alcohol level above 50 mg per 100 ml. Where the level is between 50 mg and 80 mg per 100 ml, the motorist will, on conviction, have penalty points imposed on his or her licence. This Bill proposes not to change the amount of alcohol motorists may have in their system but to change the penalty for the offence in question such that there will, for a first offence, be an automatic disqualification from driving for three months.

The question is whether this provision is reasonable and right and, if so, what argument can we make to sustain that position. Road death statistics last year show that, sadly, seven people were killed in County Kerry, which is the same number as died in County Louth. Those two counties are quite different. Louth is the smallest county in the State but has a large urban population and a huge volume of traffic and a motorway running through it. Kerry is a much larger county with an entirely different geography, road network and spread of population. Unfortunately, we saw the same number of deaths on the roads in the two counties in 2016.

Studies carried out by the Road Safety Authority show that over a period of years, an average of seven motorists driving with a blood alcohol level of between 50 mg and 80 mg per 100 ml die on our roads every year.

Consider if the people who died in Kerry last year had not died and were saved, or if the seven people who died in Louth had been saved. That is what we must measure by, but we are measuring by the lives that are being saved against the disadvantage, or the perceived disadvantage, of the regulation. Is it better to save lives? The answer, clearly and absolutely, is "Yes".

I live in County Louth and the regulation affects the drivers in my county as much as it affects people anywhere else. Sadly, more than 12 people have lost their lives on the roads in County Louth to date this year. This is very sad and it is unacceptable. Anything we can do to save lives should be done, and we must do it. This is why I believe this legislation is important and that Deputies should support its passage.

As I said in an earlier contribution, in County Louth in November during the world day of remembrance for road traffic victims, more than 600 people attended our local church. They lit candles for the family members they had lost through road traffic accidents in the previous year. Sadly, that list grows every year. I am happy that my vote will be used in the Dáil - whenever the vote is called - to do our very best to reduce that death and carnage on our roads.

The question arises about travel. If a person lives in a rural area, he or she has further to travel for their recreation, be it a pub or whatever. What assistance is proposed for people who live in disparate, distant rural areas where population is low density and in more remote areas where people are clearly isolated? I believe the proposal for the rural link transport network, which is activated currently during the day, to be made available at certain times at night and at weekends is a socially positive policy. It makes sense that we help people in rural areas to travel in the evening and at night. If it means that more people can go out using public transport in the evening or at night, I do not have a problem with that, especially in areas where people would not otherwise have an opportunity to travel because of the remoteness of where they live. This proposal is excellent and I fully support it.

The issues that arise as a result of people going to court was widely broadcast last night on "RTÉ Investigates". When people are brought to court, it is quite shocking that only 48% of those charged with exceeding the blood alcohol level actually get a conviction. I welcome the work done by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Charles Flanagan, in meeting with the Attorney General to look at the way the courts deal with the huge volume of business they have to process. In the past year, for example, 382,000 criminal offences, 134,000 civil cases and 36,000 family law cases were brought before the courts. The courts also had to deal with some 60,000 fines and a total of 284 District Court orders were made. A huge volume of work is going through our Courts Service. I welcome the fact that funding for the Courts Service has increased by €20 million this year to bring it to a total of €132 million.

Within that context, there are disparate policies in respect of sentencing, specifically for drink driving. On last might's RTÉ programme, we found out the statistics that are available by District Court number. We can see why some areas have a much higher rate of convictions for drink driving than other areas. I do not believe that this disparity or difference is acceptable to the public. I understand that 60% of business going through our District Courts is road traffic related. Obviously they are not all drink-driving cases.

We need to ensure that the Judicial Council Bill, which was introduced by the Minister for Justice and Equality in the Seanad on 22 November, deals with reform of our independent judiciary, will promote excellence, investigate complaints and establish greater accountability from our judicial colleagues. I will not be critical of any judge, which would be improper and it is not the role of a politician to become directly involved in these matters. However, it is our role to ensure judges have continuing education and training and that there is proper sentencing across the country. One issue which we examined last night was that of the poor box. There are places such as Roscommon where the total contribution to the poor box last year was €200, whereas in the wonderful county of Kerry it was €384,000.

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