Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)
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I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this important matter. In 2000 the Tánaiste and then Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment appointed a review group to consider public safety. The group's main recommendation was that an office of public safety regulation be established to monitor the lack, appropriateness and-or adequacy of regulations, Acts and guidelines designed to protect the public.

It is necessary to consider public safety because the Government appears to be remiss in this area. To judge by the number of people who have approached me on this subject, there is clearly a need for an office of public safety regulation. The regulations either do not exist or, where they do, are not enforced. The Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Killeen, will no doubt tell me there will be duplication of services. The Tánaiste, however, appointed this group but the Government has not acted on its key recommendation. In this it is remiss.

There are many cases involving road safety which demonstrate the need for this office. A young woman named Aisling Gallagher was killed last Christmas because the surface of the road on which she was travelling had not been completed. Work had been undertaken but not finished. There was no warning of a temporary road surface with a mandatory speed limit of 50 km/h. This woman, having passed all relevant tests, was driving within the law in a car in perfect working order, yet she was killed because the road was unfit for travelling. The speed limit on the road at the time was 100 km/h.

That woman should not have died but no one will take responsibility for that accident. The county council carried out the work on the road and the National Roads Authority is responsible for national secondary roads but said it would not take responsibility for this incident. The Health and Safety Authority is responsible for places of work but hairs are being split and this authority also refused to deal with the issue. Although the HSA said it did not investigate the accident, I believe it did but would not deal with it.

In a second case Sinéad McDaid in Donegal was driving on a road where there was a sign in long grass but no adequate warning of the loose chippings on which she skidded. She too was killed and nobody will take responsibility for this case. There are many such cases, including the bus crash on the Kentstown Road. This road was covered with dense base macadam which is not fit for driving with an open speed limit as in this instance. I believe this road safety factor, which was the cause of the crash, has been swept under the carpet. All criminal charges will be dealt with before this is even touched, which is the recommendation. This does not sound right. The Minister of State cannot say there is no need for this because if he met the families of the deceased they would explain the need for accountability. No one is accountable, meaning there is a need for an office of public safety regulation. If the local authorities, the Health and Safety Authority, splitting hairs as to what constitutes a place of work, and the National Roads Authority will not take responsibility, who will? There must be a system of proper reporting of and investigation into road traffic accidents. The protocol exists between the Garda and the Health and Safety Authority. I hope the Minister of State will address these issues because people are dying as a result of the lack of accountability for public safety. The establishment of an office of public safety is the only way to ensure public safety regulations are implemented.

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leat, a Cheann Comhairle, as seans a thabhairt dom an t-ábhar seo a chur os comhair na Dála.

An interdepartmental-agency review group on public safety, established in November 1999 and chaired by Dr. Daniel O'Hare, comprised representatives from all Departments, various agencies and other appropriate bodies, such as the National Safety Council. The group's report entitled, A Review of Public Safety in Ireland, was published by the Tánaiste and then Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Harney, in December 2000.

In summary, the review group recommended the establishment of an office of public safety regulation, the placing of public safety high among the concerns to be addressed by Departments and agencies in decision-making and the development of public policy. In regard to the recommendation regarding an office of public safety regulation, the proposed office would not be responsible for all public safety issues but rather would ensure those areas of the administration which should be responsible for relevant issues are doing whatever is required. Where no area is responsible for a particular subject, the office would make determinations as to where responsibility should lie. The group also proposed that the functioning, appropriateness and continuing need for the office should be reviewed within a five-year period.

Although the review group recommended the establishment of an office of public safety regulation, it was not in full agreement on its proposal due to issues relating to duplication of existing services and additional costs. Some members of the group expressed reservations about the need for such an office and the extra burden on State finances. The review group's recommendation was inconclusive with no clear-cut case made for the establishment of a new agency. It has been previously stated in the House that the establishment of yet another State agency, whose function is merely to oversee public safety matters, is not the right way forward. It is, therefore, not intended to act on the recommendation.

The regulation of public safety is being dealt with by several Departments and public bodies which co-operate as closely as possible. In many cases, there are memoranda of understanding and regular ongoing liaison meetings between the various authorities, for example. the Health and Safety Authority and the Garda Síochána. In addition, an office of emergency planning is based in the Department of Defence which deals with policy and review of emergency planning. The Health and Safety Authority, in the context of the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances, is represented on the interdepartmental group which feeds into the work of this office.