Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for that very helpful response. All the good things that happen in this country, the ones which make it a better place to live in with a better quality of life, happen when we see Government Departments collaborating. This happens when a good idea is grabbed with enthusiasm by those leading in the Departments, when it is brought to fruition and made happen. There is no reason why the Departments of Justice and Transport could not collaborate to create the portal I am referring to. I mentioned in my earlier contribution that other countries have already set up a dedicated portal for the submission of video evidence. In the UK, the national dashcam safety portal was established three years ago in response to the ever increasing submission of video and photographic evidence from members of the public. It was set up with the simple aim of reducing road accidents and making the UK's roads safer.

In his response, the Minister of State referred to the Minister having concerns about the quality of the evidence being submitted and the quality of the evidence being submitted using dashcams, be they on bicycles or in cars. That evidence has already been accepted by numerous Garda stations around the country and successful prosecutions have already been brought. The issue here is the inconsistency of the approach when it comes to bringing forward these prosecutions. That again could be resolved by a portal manned by specially-trained officers in An Garda Síochána who have the skills and knowledge to determine whether or not an offence has occurred. When video evidence of unsafe driving is submitted to the UK portal, which is being used by virtually every police force across that country, it is reviewed by a police officer and depending on the seriousness of the offence, a number of options are available to the officer. These options do not always include prosecution; sometimes it a warning letter and sometimes driver retraining.

A competent computer science student could establish this portal over a weekend. Not doing this can only lead us to one conclusion: that we do not really care about the safety of our vulnerable road users. I would really like to think we are not that kind of country. This can be done and it should be done, with the greatest possible urgency.

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