Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The amendments are there. Will I read out the amendment? It is not necessary. They are there to be debated. Whenever we reconvene on this Bill, I hope we will debate the amendments with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle or the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. As I said, the proposal in the Bill would soon fall into the same category of unworkable and unenforceable. It is very sad.

As for the amendments regarding alcohol levels and the breath test, it only came to my mind today that the Minister said he had plans to introduce harsher sanctions for excessive speeding. A road safety group, PARC, and the motoring body AA Ireland have both stated that while the plans were welcome in principle, they would be very hard to enforce. Garda sources have also expressed doubt over the Minister's statement that he was considering more speeding sanctions that would involve more penalty points for motorists caught driving over the speed limit. It is a noble gesture but why does he not have it in the Bill?

I support the Garda traffic corps, in which there are some great gardaí who also attend to crime if there is a 999 call in an area, thereby going above and beyond the call of duty. They did this in the two recent storms by helping people in all situations. They are asking why this is not in the Bill. The numbers in the traffic corps were reduced by half and although both the Garda Representative Association and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors are looking for them to be increased again, nothing is happening. There were no increases at all last year and they do not even have the vehicles they need to chase the powerful, high-speed cars which go by like a gust of wind or a jet stream which you cannot even see. They are more dangerous, as they could kill 20 people if they had an accident at that speed so the Minister should give the traffic corps the tools they need to apprehend those people.

Speed cameras are another debacle and the bane of many people's lives. I have had debates with the companies concerned but they are no help at all. I have asked them to go to accident black spots, such as bad bends, but they will not. They go to places where it is like shooting fish in a barrel, catching people doing 80 km/h in a area where the limit is 60 km/h. A woman was caught going into and coming out of a school yesterday, in a 50 km/h zone where she was doing 54 km/h. It is horrible. I do not condone speeding but they wait in places such as the bottom of hills to trap people.

An enormous cost is borne by the State for the GoSafe speed cameras. I do not know GoSafe and I have nothing against that organisation but the State has paid almost €88 million to private speed camera firms and has collected just €32.7 million in fines on motorists. The Minister is looking up at the sky or shaking his head but these figures are from his Department, or part of it. Is the Minister awake?

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