Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Question 4: To ask the Minister for Transport the reason for the delay in receiving a new legal blood alcohol recommendation as the revised target time differs from what was announced by his Department at the road safety strategy launch; his plans to introduce new legislation to provide for a new legal blood alcohol level; the role his Department had in setting up the committee to recommend a new blood alcohol level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33199/07]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The Road Safety Strategy 2007-2012 identifies the need to legislate for and introduce a reduction in the legal blood alcohol level content for drivers, but it does not specify what the level should be. I am awaiting the advice of the Road Safety Authority on the matter. I am aware that the authority has sought the advice of its policy advisory panel and expects that recommendations will be made to its board in early 2008.

The advisory panel, details of which are published in the road safety strategy, was independently established by the Road Safety Authority. The panel will take into account known driver behaviour, past offending rates, analysis of Medical Bureau of Road Safety data, enforcement practicality and best international practice. Its advice on the most appropriate blood alcohol content level will be aimed at delivering the optimum road safety dividend. The target completion date in the strategy for the reduction in the legal blood alcohol content level is the second quarter of 2009, to allow for the enactment of legislation and the adaptation of enforcement technology. As I mentioned at the launch of the new strategy, I intend to complete the implementation of this measure earlier than 2009, if possible.

Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I wish the Minister well with his allocations under the Vote of the Department of Transport. It will be money well spent, regardless of whether it has to be borrowed, if it leads to safer road and rail facilities. I wish the Minister well — the M3 will be finished shortly, please God, which might bring many of the campaigns against it to an end. I do not doubt that I will meet the Minister at tomorrow's meeting with the road safety officer for in County Meath, Mr. Michael Finnegan. Perhaps every county should have a road safety officer, and the Minister might look at that. When I contacted Mr. Tom Dowling about appointing such an officer in County Meath, he had the ball rolling within three weeks. The Minister and I know that Mr. Finnegan is probably the best road safety officer in the country. It all leads to the one thing at the end of the day.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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It is Question Time.

Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I know it is, but it is Question Time in respect of safer roads.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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It sounds like Meath County Council.

Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I want to get to the point. Sometimes, I am a bit slow in doing so.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Unfortunately, the time is ticking.

Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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In respect of our question, I am a bit like a dog with a bone, as the Minister knows. If I had not seen the recommendation that the blood alcohol limit be lowered from 80 mg to 50 mg given to the Government in a document on 17 May 2007 by the Road Safety Authority, only to find it omitted when we went into our briefing, I would not be that dog with a bone.

It is in everyone's interest. The Minister and everyone here knows that if the level is reduced from 80 mg to 50 mg, we will reduce road deaths by 20%. By delaying it until 2009, 120 people will die on our roads.

As road safety spokesperson for Fine Gael, I have said that I will never play politics with my position but somebody has played politics with that position on the Minister's side. We got the gist of it on the day of our briefing when we were told about the effects it would have on rural life. Why was this not implemented on the same day as something that could not have been implemented? Now it will be implemented after the local elections in 2009. It could have been done based on the recommendations of 17 May. Why was that not done? It is terrible and it makes a mockery of the Road Safety Authority and the whole idea of saving lives. Only two other countries have not reduced the limit from 80 mg to 50 mg. It is not in my or any other rural Deputy's interest to say this but our young people have said it quite clearly in the poll that was carried out. Young people want it so why did the Minister not act on the recommendations of the Road Safety Authority?

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The only recommendations on this matter I received from the Road Safety Authority were contained in the road safety strategy published at the end of October. The Deputy is referring to a draft document that was for discussion and part of a series of discussions that took place in respect of all the road safety strategies and all the 126 recommendations.

I was not and am not privy to what happened with the Road Safety Authority in those discussions. However, I presume, as I said before in the House, that a number of drafts on a number of different issues were brought up initially, discussed and then decided upon at a later stage. The Road Safety Authority advised me that it wanted a bit more time and expertise to decide the optimum level to which this should be reduced.

These are sensitive areas for some people. Some people will say that they are in favour of reducing limits and forcing drivers on a second provisional licence to be accompanied by another driver until one actually does it. I am not referring to the Deputy, who has been very strong in this regard, but some people take that attitude. One of the remarkable things about road safety is that everybody believes it is the actions of the other person that cause the problem rather than their own actions. This is externalisation.

As soon as I get that report — we will probably even discuss it at the committee with the Road Safety Authority because we said we would do that on a quarterly basis or thereabouts — we will bring it forward and legislation will have to be put in place. It is not my desire to delay it and the quicker we can get it done, the better.