Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The definition of "responsibility for overall policy" has changed dramatically since the Minister was appointed. It seems to me that he is simply the begging bowl for funding but that he does not dictate the policy. What is the point in having an Oireachtas and a Government elected by the Dáil if they do not outline the policy? I do not expect the Minister to choose the individual road, but I expect him to save lives. I am always interested in economic appraisals. This is a scientific study. The Minister spoke about validating the information. This information comes from TII data. That is the State agency under the Minister's Department with responsibility for road infrastructure and certain rail infrastructure such as the Luas. It provided the data and all Gamma Location Intelligence did was map it.

Accidents are constantly reported in my area. We find that one stretch of road has the number one black spot in the country, as well as the number four and number eight. There were eight in the top 20 and they are on one road. When the Minister tells me that people's safety is not an absolute overriding priority, I am very surprised because he has brought in law after law with the argument that he is saving lives. Will the Minister ensure that priority is given to starting with the top 20 accident locations in the country and that there will be adequate finance? As I said, some of these will not be expensive to resolve. Will money be provided as a priority to deal with these? We know that where roads are improved, and the ultimate example is the motorways, the accident rate per million vehicle kilometres travelled decreases dramatically. Will the Minister push it away again as if he has no responsibility for this or will he take action?

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