Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree that enforcement is key. The chairmanship of the high-level ministerial group is shared by me and the Minister for Justice. I am equally concerned with the number of road deaths and serious injuries on our roads. I acted quickly during the summer as a result of the increase in serious injuries and deaths on our roads to bring forward regulations. We are also working on legislative proposals but the regulations allowed for an immediate response. The real killers on our roads are speed, people using mobile phones while driving, not obeying traffic wardens outside schools and not wearing seat belts. People ignoring basic rules of the road is causing a considerable number of serious injuries and deaths on our roads. I doubled the fines in respect of such offences. I absolutely agree that enforcement is key. The role of enforcement lies with the Garda, which is represented on that committee. The Garda has rolled out extra speeding enforcement points throughout the country. We have an ongoing collaborative engagement with the Garda and if more needs to be done, it will be done.

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