Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, for sharing his time. I welcome the opportunity to debate this Bill with the Members opposite. It is a good proposal and I know Deputy Ward has been on this issue for some years. It might come as a surprise to him to learn that in our 100 years of democracy, only about seven Private Members' Bills have been passed into law, to the best of my knowledge. The figure may be six or eight but it is very low. That being said, I have personally written several Bills, some of which I have submitted and some I have not. All have influenced the outcome of legislation that followed, however. That is what we are supposed to do with Private Members' Bills and, as such, I commend the Deputy on that.

I welcome the Minister of State's contribution on what the Government is proposing to do. In particular, I echo what the previous speaker said on the work being done by the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Deputy James Browne, on the education side. I have been in politics for 17 years, seven of which were spent on Fingal County Council. Members, particularly Deputy Paul Donnelly, will know of my service as we were in the council chamber together for some years. The most important activity the council members are involved in is the road safety roadshow, which takes place nearly every year in the Helix. I held the positions of mayor and deputy mayor of Fingal on separate occasions, during which times I attended these roadshows, at which harrowing stories are told to children in the presence of An Garda Síochána and educators. If what the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, is proposing is to establish this roadshow as a Garda-backed scheme that will go around the country and be constant in the lives of young people, I will welcome it because this is an effective approach. On one occasion, a scrambler that had been involved in a crash was brought up as an example. A victim of that crash, the pillion passenger who had been left in a wheelchair, told a pretty effective story.

What Sinn Féin is proposing and what the Government is now proposing to implement are two commendable steps. I welcome the opportunity to debate this Bill and the other two Bills when they are introduced. I genuinely thank the Deputies opposite for proposing the Bill, which has been on the cards for some time. A lot of work has been done on this issue over many years. If nothing else, the Bill has served the purpose of informing the Department when it drafts its own Bill. That is most important and it will be for the benefit of Deputy Ward in particular.

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