Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am very happy to have the opportunity to speak on the Bill and the amendments thereto. It addresses many matters of importance. It deals with very sensitive matters and I commiserate with anyone who has lost a loved one in a road tragedy. I have encountered many families so affected in my work and have seen the devastating effects road deaths have on families and communities.

In the context of the Bill, in the past week I have been described as being part of a team called a disgrace and might have been described as being part of a team who were called terrorists. That was said in the belief that I am trying to block the Bill. I have spoken on the Bill for 16 minutes since Christmas. Surely to God, if we live in a democracy Members should be allowed to speak for 16 minutes on legislation that will have serious effects on my community and neighbouring communities.

Although I will not go into detail on the remark accusing me of being a terrorist because I do not think it was directed at me, I did look up the dictionary definition of a terrorist. It is defined as being a person who uses unlawful violence. It is astonishing that, if that allegation is correct, a Deputy was called a terrorist but that is an issue between the Deputy's legal team and the person who called him that. I am not a disgrace for speaking on this very important issue for 16 minutes since Christmas. The person who called us that is abusing her position. She was an elected representative in this Dáil many years ago and, surely to God, she spoke for 16 minutes on various issues. Perhaps she did not and that is why she lost her position. That is another day's work.

I have asked whether the Bill and amendments have been rural proofed. That is of great importance. The programme for Government commits to rural-proofing of legislation and that is very important in respect of this Bill. The Government is obliged to consider the effects that any new legislation would have on rural Ireland: would it damage rural Ireland or make the lives of people there better?

I am concerned that the Bill would have a damaging effect on many living in rural Ireland, in particular young people who are trying to hold down jobs there and their parents, who the Minister is threatening to criminalise. This is a very anti-rural Bill and could be extremely damaging to rural Ireland. Young people have to wait for up to seven or eight months, or longer, to get a driving test in rural Ireland. Many such people live in rural areas in which there are few or no daily bus services. In order to get to work, many have no choice but to use a motor vehicle as their means of transport. However, the Bill provides that if they drive without being accompanied by a qualified driver, their parents or the owner of the car could be guilty of a criminal offence. I suggest to the Minister that the Bill be modified to allow learner drivers awaiting their test to drive to and from their place of work without criminalising their parents. That would mean that young people who had not passed their test could not use a car for social or entertainment travel but could do so to travel to and from work.

As I have previously highlighted, several other measures could be put in place which could make driving by younger people safer. For example, speed limiters would limit the top speed at which a car could travel and might improve public safety. These are small measures that perhaps should have been considered before the dramatic solution was decided upon.

I have previously raised the poor condition of our roads and the serious accidents and deaths caused as a result. Last summer, two American tourists were killed at Waterloo junction on the Cork to Mallow road. It is a dangerous junction and road signage might be an issue there. Last week, another tourist had a very serious accident at that junction. In spite of the pleas from many quarters, nothing was done. What steps were taken to make that junction safer in the past nine months?

In my constituency, tens of thousands of euro will be spent on installing beautiful sculptures on the Halfway roundabout on the Cork to Bandon road. That will presumably be funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland. Sculptures are lovely but of greater importance to my constituents is that the roundabout is the gateway to south west Cork. Many people are asking why money is being spent on the roundabout while the wheels, tyres and shocks of motorists' cars are being damaged by potholes only a mile or two beyond it, and throughout west Cork. Who authorised payment for that sculpture but will not sanction money to save lives on our roads? That is a very important question which must be answered so that I can relay that to the people of south west Cork. A footpath is being installed around the roundabout even though no one would consider walking anywhere near it because they would be blown off the road as it is a busy roundabout. I do not know how many tens of thousands of euro it will cost. It might cost a few hundred thousand euro but that does not seem to matter. There is money for sculptures but no money to repair potholes, whether on roads in Bandon, Clonakilty, Drimoleague, Dunmanway, Bantry or on the way down to Mizen Head. There is no need to worry about that.

It is only a few potholes.

That is just one example of road conditions leading to deaths, but road conditions throughout rural Ireland are appalling. That has been mentioned here time and again by other Deputies. The fund being put in place is totally inadequate. Why does the Government not ask each county council to furnish a realistic estimate of the cost of ensuring that there are safe and drivable conditions on the roads within their counties? We could ask Transport Infrastructure Ireland to do the same for the roads for which it is responsible in each county. That could be done quickly and would highlight for the Government the inadequacy of the current funding. Instead of throwing money at, say, a sculpture, it is time to look at the bypass in Bandon or try to better the environment in places. We should stop wasting money. If we spend it sensibly first, we could then consider the provision of sculptures. I have no doubt that if road conditions improved, the number of serious accidents and deaths would definitely fall.

The Minister mentioned last week that he appointed to the board of the Road Safety Authority, RSA, relatives whose loved ones were killed on our roads. They are the right people to be on that board but does the Minister have the authority to appoint such people? I stand open to correction in respect of this matter. I will need to listen to the recording of last week's proceedings. I did not have time to do so, but it is astonishing that the Minister can appoint people to boards when he is trying to stop politicians appointing members of the Judiciary to boards. While the Minister, or somebody else, was correct to have those people on the board, people have been killed due to the condition of our roads. Are their loved ones on the board of the RSA? People have been killed by falling trees on our roads. Are their loved ones on the board? Those are extremely important issues also. Everybody should have an equal voice on the board, or is the Minister just choosing people from one sector? Those people need to have a voice on the board but so do others. I would like the Minister to clarify the position. I will listen to the recording because if the Minister has the authority to appoint members to the board, that is a dangerous move. We need clarification on that.

I have spoken on many aspects of this Bill and I will not spend much more time discussing them. Everybody knows my views on rural isolation and our elderly people and many others who used to enjoy having a social drink. Thankfully, they came from and returned to their homes safely all their lives. It appears that is coming to an end, with nothing being put in place to ensure that those people will not suffer from serious rural isolation or mental health issues. I do not see anything coming forward in this regard but I hope the Minister can correct me on that also.

I have spoken on the Heritage Bill and verge cutting. All those issues are extremely important and are a major cause of stress for people driving on the roads in the current conditions. At various crossroads in west Cork in June or July, whether it be on the Mizen Peninsula, the Beara Peninsula or the beautiful Sheep's Head Peninsula, most cars are out in the middle of the road before they can be seen. The number of accidents, near accidents or near-death incidents is astonishing. People who are trying to cycle or walk have to go out into the middle of the road because we are not allowed cut the verges. Those areas need to be looked at seriously to make sure that every aspect of people's lives are catered for.

The section on cycling has been removed. I am delighted because I had serious concerns in that regard. There are many cycling clubs in my area and the members are great people who promote events in their communities. They were talking about requiring motorists to give cyclists a 1.5 m clearance when passing from the rear. I think Deputy Troy was bringing that in but I have to disagree with it because it would mean that if I was to abide by the rules in my area, I would have to go over the ditch and drive through the fields to get around somebody on a bicycle. That was never going to work. My daughter, Eileen, lives in Ballinalee, County Longford, which is in Deputy Troy's constituency. It would not work on the roads in that area either because they are in the same condition as those in my constituency in west Cork.

I could be here talking about this Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill for the next hour. I have very serous concerns about it. I know what it will do to the people of rural Ireland. I would like the Minister to do a serious audit on the way money is spent in his Department. Some spending can be wise in ways but it is definitely not enough, particularly when it comes to sculptures. I will give the Minister one example. I was in Lyre in Clonakilty, last Sunday and I looked at the bridge where the residents of 20, 25 or 30 houses are able to travel to and fro on that section of road. That bridge was damaged by a storm in 2013, which was no fault of the Minister, and it was closed. There is no money to fix it so the residents now have to travel four or five miles on a round trip away from it. The point I am making is that the Minister should forget about the sculptures and put the money he has available to him into fixing bridges and roads.

I would be cautious about bringing the Minister down to my area again. I brought him down last year but there are many people who are very angry because they did not hear back from him. He saw the scandalous condition of our roads. I mentioned it on a radio programme the other day and I received a telephone call from somebody telling me that I was a disgrace. I told the individual that people in my community had to drive on the wrong side of the road when they are going to work in the morning to avoid the poor conditions on the N7, which they have to use. One gentleman told me that if he drives on the right side of the road, the tools in the back of his van end up partly in the front of it. There is no money for repairing the road but hundreds of thousands of euro have been spent on sculptures. That road is in a bad state. The Minister was in my car when the bottom of it walloped off the road. That road has not been touched since and has got worse. I know that if people travel that road on the proper side, it will lead to a loss of life. However, the Minister does not have that statistic with him tonight. Sadly, the statistics the Minister has are driven by people who should be examining all the issues.

We should consider the state of the roads following the flooding events we have experienced. Some of the roads have been trounced with water. There is no drainage and no funding to drain away the water. We no longer have roadside workers because there are no funds to pay them. The local authority received 700 applications in respect of a recent advertisement. I would like to know how many jobs are being offered; perhaps it is two or three. In some cases, people should travel the roads on a boat and not a car but, again, that problem will go unheeded.

As I said at the outset, the Minister should stand by the Constitution and treat everybody in this country alike. I do not appreciate being called a disgrace but I suppose I have been called worse. I certainly do not like my fellow Deputies being called terrorists. The Deputies I know would not hurt a fly. They are decent, respectable people. I would be surprised if whoever said it stooped to that level. We might tell people they are wrong or whatever but we do not call people disgusting names. As I said to the Minister, a terrorist is a person who engages in violence. I am sorry but that is not anyone I know.

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