Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----just because I express my opinion on behalf of those I represent in Kilkenny and rural Ireland. Stronger enforcement of the existing laws is needed, along with ways to address all causes of road deaths. That was highlighted by the "Prime Time" programme broadcast on RTÉ last Monday night, which concluded that current legislation governing drink-driving is not consistently enforced. It was worth watching and proved a point. I happened to be at home to see it although I often miss such programmes.

As regards social isolation in rural Ireland, the Government does not understand how rural Ireland operates nor the damage this legislation could do there. The Minister is from Dublin and is urbanised and he does not understand what the Bill would mean for rural Ireland. Deputies from rural constituencies have to listen to their constituents. I do not condone drink-driving. I have to keep saying that. However, the proposals the Government is bringing forward in the Bill would make it impossible for people to go to a rural pub. For many people, that is their only social outlet. That is an important point. Such people may have always gone to the pub as a social outlet on a Friday having travelled four or five miles down lanes from their homes in rural Ireland. They may collect their pensions and do some shopping and the husband or wife may go in to have a drink, meet people and have a chat and then go home without doing any harm to anyone. The rule that the Minister is trying to bring in will stop all of that. Such people may have to get behind the wheel of a car to go to work the next morning but the new focus on testing in the morning time will make it impossible for anyone to do so. Even if people do everything right, such as getting a taxi home if there is one available, and then try to go to work the morning after and the Garda has set up a checkpoint, they will be caught out. That is another issue that is very important for rural Ireland. It would be ideal if people in very remote parts of rural Ireland could rely on public transport to get to work but they cannot. People in rural Ireland cannot rely on the Luas, the DART, regular buses going by their door or even taxis in some cases. Even in the bigger provincial towns around the country, if one is out late one must rely on a good taxi man to take one home without charging a fortune. If the Government is serious about rural regeneration it will not enforce laws that will confine older people to their homes and put small rural pubs and bars out of business. Such businesses are one of the few remaining employers of young people, who would also be driven out of rural communities if they could not work or socialise after 6 p.m.

There are no proposals from Government about increasing the number of Garda checkpoints. Given the recent breathalyser test debacle, of which all Members know, the public need to know that the Government is serious about Garda presence on our roads to prevent and detect drink-driving and decrease speeding. I watched the debate on this issue in the House yesterday morning and was shocked by issues read into the record by my colleague, Deputy Eugene Murphy. He said that he came across a figure while researching the issue that showed that the number of gardaí in the traffic corps this year was 663, a decrease of 400 gardaí. That issue should be looked at. Deputy Murphy is correct in what he said about speed vans. Some people say we do not need checkpoints if there are sufficient speed vans. However, speed vans do not detect drunken drivers. Most fatal collisions in which alcohol is a contributory factor involve drivers whose blood alcohol content is higher than 100 mg. The Bill will affect a country person who goes to the pub and has one drink or, as we used to call it, a half and a small bottle, perhaps a bottle of stout. That is completely different to drunk drivers who are plastered and should not be behind the wheel. No law will stop that unless it is enforced by the Garda. Those are the drivers who should face much higher sanctions. Evidence suggests that closing loopholes and strengthening provisions would be a far more effective means of saving lives than the measures proposed in the Bill.

In the United Kingdom it is mandatory for high risk offenders, including those found with a blood alcohol content of greater than 200 mg and repeat offenders, to pass a medical examination before getting their licence back. Perhaps that should be considered rather than passing the Bill. A study by the European Road Safety Observatory highlighted that alcohol ignition interlocks, which prevent a person from starting a car when they are over the legal limit, are 40% to 95% more effective in preventing drink-driving than traditional measures such as licence withdrawal or fines. Fianna Fáil will be bringing forward legislation to have alcohol ignition locks installed in the cars of severe first-time offenders and all second-time offenders.

Punishments mean little to people if they do not believe that they will be caught. There must be more Garda checkpoints to enforce the existing law. Given the sorry state of Ireland’s enforcement mechanisms in respect of drink-driving, that is hardly a surprise. Recent controversies over falsified breathalyser tests have revealed the hollow nature of Government rhetoric on alcohol-related road offences. While the final figure has yet to be confirmed, it is possible that more than 1 million breathalyser tests were faked, as has been addressed. Where is the credibility in any regime involving that level of falsification? Even when convictions occur, the risk of losing one’s licence is meaningless if a person is already disqualified or knows that the punishment will not be enforced. Of 206 drivers involved in a fatal alcohol-related collision, 41 were disqualified at the time of the incident. That represents almost a fifth of the cases covered. There is a gap between deterrents on paper and in the real world. No amount of automatic disqualification will deter people if they do not believe the punishments will be enforced. Although disqualified drivers are obliged to return their licence to the Road Safety Authority, 98% of them do not do so. Drivers are disqualified in court but 98% of those drivers do not have their licence taken from them. That is an incredible statistic. How can something be enforced when the courts do not take away the licence of disqualified drivers? It is a disgrace. It is no wonder that there are so many disqualified drivers on the road when one considers that the overwhelming majority of them do not have their licence confiscated.

We support increasing the maximum prison sentence for driving while disqualified from 6 months to 2 years and the maximum fine from €5,000 to €15,000 for repeat offenders. That would ensure appropriate punishment for repeat offenders. We also support allocating increased resources to the Road Safety Authority, RSA, for the management of the system and to increase enforcement.

I cannot understand why the Minister has not addressed the funding imbalance that favours urban bus services over rural bus services nor why he has not modernised bus services in rural Ireland. If all these laws are to be enforced, why is a service not being provided to look after people? That would be step one if the Minister really wanted to provide a better quality of life for people in rural communities. The Government has not been active on policy for that area. It is not a matter for the National Transport Authority, NTA, or Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, but, rather, for the Minister and the Government. If there were adequate public transport services in rural Ireland, people would have the option to put their car keys in the drawer and make use of an alternative mode of transport to get home or to go to work the morning after having a few drinks. The rural link transport network is currently available during the day. We should urgently seek to investigate the viability of enhancing the network and making it available at peak times during the on weekday and weekend nights. The social fabric of rural Ireland is currently very strained. I view the expansion of the rural link transport network as a socially positive policy and I ask the Minister to strongly consider it.

Education is also needed. Between 2008 and 2012, 39% of drivers involved in fatal collisions where alcohol was a factor were aged between 15 and 24.

This statistic is very alarming too. This means that we continue to fail our young people and that we are not getting through to them on the dangers of drink-driving. During Question Time in February 2017 the Minister admitted that the education piece of road safety has not been as effective as we might have hoped, yet he has failed to address this. We do not have a mandatory driver safety programme that covers the dangers of drink-driving. While this is an optional module for transition year students, it is far from universal; only 70% of students are enrolled in transition year, and it is up to schools whether to feature a driver safety programme. The RSA has also highlighted that young people need to be educated about drink-driving from a younger age than that of transition year students; young people typically begin to drink when they are about 14 or 15 years of age. We should educate them at that stage. We should make it mandatory for transition year students to receive a course on road safety, drink-driving, etc.

Fianna Fáil will table a number of amendments to provide for this. We propose that the current penalty point sanction of three points be increased to five and that the fine be doubled to €500. I think this would be a sufficient deterrent for anyone found driving with between 50 mg and 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood. We also support increased penalties for those found driving with a blood alcohol content in excess of 100 mg as these drivers are responsible for eight in ten fatal road collisions involving alcohol. We also support an increase in the penalties for those breaking a driving disqualification, who account for approximately a fifth of fatalities involving road collisions. To show our good faith and intentions on this issue, Fianna Fáil believes the Minister should accept the compromise we have suggested, that is, that five penalty points be given to a person found driving with a blood alcohol level of between 50 mg and 80 mg per 100 ml of blood.

I have not even spoken about rural Ireland and the mental problems and isolation out there. These are important matters as well, and we never consider them. As I said, people in rural homes have no outlet but to go to the local town or village and meet people. They are afraid. Rural isolation is already an issue. Suicide is a problem in rural Ireland. With all these laws we are introducing we are becoming a nanny state. We are dictating how people should live their lives and telling them what they can and cannot do. We are frightening people in every way of life. These draconian measures do not necessarily mean anything. I know the Minister does not understand this because he is not from a rural area. He should visit a rural area and see what happens every day to people living four or five miles from the nearest town. They sometimes have the opportunity to come into a town, meet people, socialise and have a drink if they so wish - one or two drinks. I know people who go into towns and have a flutter of drinking and then try to drive home. I am talking about people who come in for the social aspect. We are not taking this on board. We are also not taking on board the morning after, when people have done the right thing the night before and got their taxis home and then try to get to work to make a living and keep going. Perhaps it is a little late in the day now, but I ask the Minister to take all this on board and reconsider where we are with the Bill.

Another issue is the condition of the roads. We can talk about the various problems in rural areas. I spoke about the need for a rural bus service. I know we cannot have a bus service that will go up every lane and boreen in rural Ireland but we can have some kind of bus service from village to village that would help alleviate people's problems. I do not think this legislation has been thought out or worked through enough. I ask the Minister again to reconsider what we are asking and take all this on board. I do not like voting against legislation on drink-driving. I do not like to support anyone drinking and then driving a car, but I am talking about the minimum that we need. The law we had that Fianna Fáil introduced is adequate to look after anyone with a blood alcohol content of between 50 mg and 80 mg, and I ask the Minister to consider that. Do I have a minute left?

See this speech in context