Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

Today, I will bring the Road Traffic Bill 2024 before the House. This Bill is an urgent and essential part of the Government's response to the concerning trend of rising road fatalities and serious injuries. This is a short and focused Bill that aims to effectively address issues with driver behaviours through legislative change. Last year, we witnessed 188 deaths on our roads. This essentially places us on the same footing for road safety as we were on ten years ago. We have witnessed a dramatic negative shift in driver behaviour following the Covid-19 pandemic. Our current system is under strain and action must be taken to reverse this worrying trend. The main behaviours driving this trend are speeding, intoxicated driving, distracted driving and careless driving. As we debate this issue today, it is important that we do not forget the families impacted by these behaviours and the lives that have been lost. There is no acceptable level of death or serious injury on our roads. One life lost is one too many.

I thank all of the numerous people and organisations who have contributed to the development of the proposals in this Bill. Significant cross-agency and departmental discussions took place under a legislative enabler group chaired by the Department of Transport. I also thank the Oireachtas joint committee for waiving pre-legislative scrutiny.

Sadly, the level of death and destruction that took place on our roads in 2023 is being repeated in 2024. Time is of the essence. Ireland has made great progress on road safety since the turn of the millennium. In 1999, there were 413 deaths on Irish roads. In 2018, there were 134. However, the trend has now turned in the wrong direction. Last year, there were 188. As of today, the figures for 2024 are 22 deaths, which is four down on this date last year.

A number of commitments supporting road safety under the programme for Government have been achieved to date. These include the development of a comprehensive road safety strategy, the signing of the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 into law and the completion of the speed limit review. Furthermore, my Department is currently engaged in talks with the Law Reform Commission on the necessary steps to consolidate road traffic legislation. This is a major project that will involve not just consolidation, but also the correction of any anomalies identified during the process.

The road safety strategy was developed with inputs from key stakeholders such as the Road Safety Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the Departments of Justice, Health and Education and my own Department of Transport. The strategy runs from 2021 to 2030 and has the goal of reducing road fatalities and serious injuries by 50% in 2030. This will help put us on track to reach Vision Zero by 2050. Vision Zero is a long-term goal aimed at eradicating road deaths and serious injuries by 2050. It has been adopted by the European Commission in its own road safety strategy. We are currently in phase one of the road safety strategy. This phase runs from 2021 to 2024. Last month, a high-level meeting of stakeholders took place to review the progress to date and to engage in workshops aimed at further enhancing our current approach. The event involved representatives from all over the country as road safety impacts everyone on our island. The destruction on our roads in 2023 was at the forefront of the discussion with representatives from the Departments of Transport and Justice, the RSA, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and local authorities. It was vital that we brought all relevant stakeholders together under the one roof for this discussion early on in 2024. The event saw some really important insights and proposals to consider as we move forward with the strategy.

It is worth noting that, in response to the rising trend in fatalities throughout 2023, my Department gave sanction last October for the Road Safety Authority to spend an additional €3.6 million on increased public awareness campaigns in the latter and final months of 2023 and the early months of this year. In addition, as part of the road safety strategy, officials from my Department, TII, An Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice travelled to Scotland last October on a high-level fact-finding mission relating to camera-based enforcement. Building on this work and parallel work led by the National Transport Authority, TII has agreed to lead the development of a comprehensive national camera enforcement strategy. This is one of my foremost ministerial priorities for 2024.

Strengthening road traffic legislation is only part of improving road safety, however. RSA research has shown that the presence of more gardaí on our roadsides is an effective deterrent to dangerous driving behaviours, along with increased penalties and the use of technology. Legislation must, therefore, be backed up by robust, vigorous and visible enforcement by An Garda Síochána in order that drivers are aware that there will be consequences for failing to follow the law and, as a result, adjust their behaviour accordingly. I therefore welcome the fact that the 20% increase in GoSafe hours announced by the Minister for Justice in September for the final quarter of last year is continuing into the early months of this year. This will deliver 9,000 hours a month, an increase from 7,500.

We are at a point where reducing fatality and serious injury figures is getting more difficult. The Bill provides for a number of measures that will target driver behaviours that are causing or contributing to the worrying trends we are seeing. I will explain these measures in a few moments. Deputies will be aware that there is a large body of road traffic legislation covering a wide range of topics. As I have said previously, the Road Traffic Bill 2024 is a short and focused Bill that will primarily target driving behaviours. As Minister of State with responsibility for road safety, it is my duty to bring forward strong proposals that will successfully help all of us in turning the tide on the devastating scenes we are witnessing on our roads nearly every day. This Bill will deal with three main issues: penalty points reform, mandatory drug testing and the implementation of key recommendations from the speed limit review.

The first issue this Bill will address relates to penalty points. Penalty points were introduced in Ireland under the Road Traffic Act 2002. The primary purpose of penalty points is to encourage safer driving behaviours and to maintain vehicle roadworthiness. It is important to note that, in addition to drivers receiving penalty points on their licence, in most cases, they are also issued with fixed charge notices for the driving offence detected. Once a fully qualified driver reaches 12 points, he or she receives a driving disqualification. For novice drivers and learner permit holders, this threshold is reduced to seven penalty points. As part of the road safety strategy, my Department was tasked with reviewing the penalties for serious road traffic offences.

Under existing legislation, the 2002 Act specifies that, when a person commits more than one penalty point offence on the same occasion, he or she will receive only one set of penalty points, the highest or joint highest that applies. The driver is still issued with fixed charge notices for all offences detected. The Bill will amend the provisions surrounding multiple offence detection so that, in future, drivers who are detected committing more than one offence at once will receive multiple penalty points. Following on from legal advice, the new system proposed in this Bill will work in the following way. If a person pays two fixed charges for offences arising out of the same occasion, he or she will get both sets of penalty points. If he or she pays more than two fixed charges, he or she will get two sets, the highest or joint highest. If he or she is convicted in court of penalty point offences on the same occasion, he or she will get all sets of penalty points involved. These two parts of the system will work together. If a person gets five fixed charge notices for five offences on the same occasion, he or she might pay three but choose to go to court in respect of the other two. In that case, he or she will get two sets of points out of the three fixed charges paid and both sets of points from the convictions concerned. This change in law will encourage safer driver behaviours and ensure that drivers who continually commit driving offences are disqualified.

The second issue the Bill will address concerns drug driving. Under the Road Traffic Act 2010, members of An Garda Síochána may test drivers for drugs at the scene of serious collisions whereas they are required to test for alcohol. This is known as mandatory alcohol testing. The Bill will amend the existing provision so as to require members of An Garda Síochána to test for both alcohol and drugs at the scene of collisions. The research shows that, unfortunately, drug driving is becoming much more prevalent in our society. It is vital that we have the necessary legislative tools at our disposal to remove people who drive under the influence of intoxicants from our roads. Mandatory drug testing will play an invaluable role in increasing safety on our roads. My Department has liaised significantly with the Medical Bureau of Road Safety on this issue.

The third issue covered by the Bill concerns speed limits. Deputies will be aware that, in the programme for Government, we committed to conducting a review of speed limits. This review was brought to Government in September of last year and published that month. The Road Traffic Bill 2024 includes provisions relating to recommendations arising from the review. Speeding is one of the main causes of road deaths and serious injuries. It cannot be emphasised enough. We have too many roads with incorrect speed limits. There are many built-up areas where the set limit is 50 km/h. Similarly, there are countless rural roads around the country that have limits of 100 km/h or 80 km/h in locations where no one could safely travel at these speeds.

We must address the issue of speeding now while we have the appropriate legislative vehicle to carry it forward. Too many lives have been lost to speeding and it goes without saying that a driver might be following the posted speed limit and still cause a collision based on the fact that the road is not designed for that particular speed. Again, drivers must take responsibility to ensure they are driving safely and can react to any changing circumstances that may arise.

To put the issue of default speed limits for built-up areas into perspective, Dublin has the majority of 30 km/h zones across the country and Dublin is also the region that saw the lowest increase in road fatalities last year with 14 deaths in 2022 and 15 deaths in 2023. The Bill will amend the default speed limits from 50 km/h to 30 km/h for built-up areas. National secondary roads will go from 100 km/h to 80 km/h. The speed limits on local rural roads will be reduced from 80 km/h to 60 km/h. This will ensure that public places such as roads in towns and villages will have safer speed limits. Evidence has shown that reduced speed limits increases safety for road users. If passed, this proposal will permit the introduction of a reformed speed limit framework. My Department will work closely with local authorities to ensure this can be advanced and co-ordinated across the country when the guidance is issued

I give notice here there are some matters we intend to address as well on Committee Stage. Penalty points are meant to act as a deterrent to illegal driving behaviours with a deterrent factor based on the risk for a driver that they could accumulate enough points to be disqualified for six months. For this reason, there are no penalty points for offences that, on conviction, carry a consequential, that is, an automatic disqualification. Where convictions do not carry a consequential disqualification, the court still has the option of imposing an ancillary disqualification. It is proposed to amend section 2(8) of the 2002 Act so that points will be applied in any case involving an ancillary disqualification that is for less than six months and will not be applied in cases involving an ancillary disqualification for six months or more. This ensures that drivers still receive penalty points if they are given a short ancillary disqualification.

A recent High Court case has raised a specific difficulty with the law on roadside testing for intoxicants. While the High Court ruling is subject to appeal by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, following legal advice, the Department considers it prudent to amend the law in this area. The difficulty is that when the gardaí take a specimen of breath or oral fluid to test for alcohol or drugs, they currently have no explicit power to require the person to remain at the scene until the test produces a result. This is particularly important for drug tests, which take a few minutes to develop and get a test result. Following legal advice my Department therefore proposes amending sections 9 and 10 of the 2010 Act to create an explicit power to require a person to remain at the scene of a roadside intoxicant test. We are also taking the opportunity to allow gardaí to ask for a second specimen in case for some reason the first specimen does not deliver a result. The maximum time a garda will be able to require someone to wait will be 30 minutes. This would allow two tests for breath and two tests for oral fluid to be conducted, allowing that in on-the-ground situations a garda may have to attend to other matters between tests.

The Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 contains provisions for a new class of vehicles called powered personal transporters, PPTs, which includes e-scooters. The 2023 Act inserts a definition of PPTs into the Road Traffic Act 1961. This definition refers to parameters for weight, speed and power output. The 2023 Act also allows the Minister to vary these parameters for specific classes of PPT. The intention was that the parameters in the Act would define a PPT while regulations can then define certain types by reference to lower weights, speed and power as appropriate. Subsequent legal concerns have indicated that the ministerial power could be used to make any of these parameters higher than those set out in the Act. It is now proposed to remove this ministerial power, along with the cross-reference to it, to ensure the parameters passed by the Oireachtas are not bypassed. Additionally, the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 introduces a new definition for e-bikes. It has come to my Department's attention that under section 38 of the Road Traffic Act 1961, legislation requires that riders of low-powered e-bikes would have to take a driving test and obtain a driving licence. This is not in accordance with policy and is not required by EU driver licensing law. My Department intends to amend section 38 so that low-powered e-bikes will not require a driver test or licence.

This is a short and focused Bill dealing with a number of important issues that I believe will make a real difference to road safety. The Bill will encourage safer driving behaviours through the reformed penalty points system, mandatory drug testing and reduced speed limits. This is part of a multifaceted approach we are taking to maximise the response to the terrible tragedies we witnessed in 2023. I hope the House will appreciate the value of what we are doing here. I look forward to the debate and listening to the suggestions from Deputies. The Bill is urgently needed. Everyone on this island is a stakeholder in road safety. It is essential that we as elected Members of this House show leadership and pass these much needed reforms. I hope to see the Bill progressed as quickly as possible.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for outlining the Bill. It is something we have all been keen to look at. First and foremost, I am glad he withdrew the part of it relating to time-dependent penalty points. I hope he now accepts that the notion of having penalty points for weekends as opposed to weekdays is not a good idea and is simply inappropriate, in our system or indeed anywhere.

The difficulty we have with this legislation is that the basics are not right. At the end of the day, we all want to see the tragedies on our roads brought to an end. So many people have lost their lives and so many families have been decimated by collisions and by road traffic accidents. Yes, an awful lot of it is down to speed. Speed is a big factor in that. The speed issue is also around people who are intoxicated either with drugs or alcohol or whatever. Usually they are the people who are also speeding on our roads.

We can look at the issue internationally. I have read the recommendations and the speed limit review. I also have the Bill digest, for which I thank the Oireachtas Library and Research Service, which produced it. I have also read other material around this to look at international examples. When we consider the whole, it tells us that we need appropriate speed limits on the roads but we also need very safe roads for people to drive on, proper enforcement of those speed limits and proper enforcement of the legislation that is in place. This is where we are falling down big time in this country. The Minister of State will have to recognise this. Since 2009, we have dropped by almost half in the numbers in our roads policing units across the State. In the past three years they have dropped again by almost 15%. If there is not the level of enforcement of the laws, then producing more laws is not going to change that. I recently had a lengthy conversation with a retired member of An Garda Síochána who worked in the roads policing unit for many years. He made the point that they would often catch somebody travelling at maybe 30% or 40% above the speed limit. The person would enter another area with a limit that was lower again and the driver would then be 60% above the speed limit. It did not matter which limit that person was subject to, he or she was going to drive well beyond it. He made the point to me that lowering a limit does not prevent the person from driving beyond it. All it does is re-emphasise that they are in an area where they should drive slower. We need to have adequate deterrents.

I welcome the measures being brought in around the penalty points where they will actually have to deal with the multiple penalty points for the one incident. That is welcome and it needs to come in. The mandatory drug testing after a collision or a particularly serious collision is also something that should have been in place a long time ago. That measure is certainly welcome but it is closing the stable door when the horse has bolted; the collision has happened and the person was driving while intoxicated. We need to prevent people driving while intoxicated, using drugs or alcohol. We do not have enough deterrents to stop that from happening in the beginning. Checking somebody after the collision has happened clearly, in some sense, is too late and particularly with regard to people who have been seriously injured or possibly killed in that collision. The measures introduced here by the Minister of State only go a part of the way to what needs to be resolved.

On the speed limits, the other issue is the big one that all of us have. We know there are many roads where speed limits need to be reduced. There are also roads where the speed limit at present is quite appropriate if people adhere to it. There are people, however, who are not adhering to them because we do not have the enforcement measures in place. Not having the enforcement of measures in place cannot be replaced by bringing those limits down further. They need to put the proper enforcement measures in place. That is the key to all of this. The difficulty we have is a difficulty across the whole country where there are many roads with stretches that have bad bends and dangerous junctions and where incidents occur on a regular basis.

Local authorities look for funding to get works done at those locations but they do not get the funding and the problems continue. These locations were often called black spots in the past. We need to remove those black spots and that requires investment, not legislation. Having adequate preventative measures in place across the entire State, particularly having enough gardaí to deal with these issues, requires investment, not legislation. That is where we differ and where we have a difficulty with these proposals.

The Minister of State brought the proposals to the committee and sought a waiver on pre-legislative scrutiny, which I opposed. Waivers should not happen. There is a very good reason to have pre-legislative scrutiny, which is the need to bring in experts and discuss the unintended consequences that sometimes arise from legislation of this nature. The point was also made to me by the individual to whom I referred, who has vast experience in this area, that when a speed limit is, as he termed it, too restrictive in an area where is a very good stretch of road, motorists will break that limit. If people see a law they think is inappropriate, it is very difficult to get them to adhere to it. In some cases, where there is a very slow passage of traffic going through an area and a motorist held up behind it sees a break in the traffic, he or she will take the chance of trying to overtake. That introduces a dangerous element to the situation. It is an unintended consequence of reducing limits but it often is a consequence that needs to be considered. While I welcome anything that can reduce accidents on the roads, I do not believe this legislation will do that unless there is a vast improvement in the enforcement of the laws currently in place as well as a vast improvement in the level of investment in the roads network around the country to ensure black spots and other serious problems and difficulties are addressed.

Another issue to consider is that many motorists have deadlines to get to where they need to go. There will be a backlash in respect of that. We need to have some understanding of the situation of delivery drivers and so on. People need to get to places on time. We have to take that into consideration but it cannot outweigh safety, which must be the primary consideration at play in all of this. The Minister of State mentioned the GoSafe vans that are parked on particular roads. We see it all the time around the country where a motorist is a few kilometres over the limit on a clear stretch of road and the photograph is taken. There is not another vehicle in sight and, apart from the driver being a couple of kilometres over the limit, the situation is clearly quite safe. Such motorists are, of course, breaking the law but they are not usually the people causing accidents or incidents. It is the chancers who cause accidents, that is, the people who overtake on corners and simply abuse the system to the stage that they are driving recklessly on the road. We see them regularly and, unfortunately, they are not caught in those situations.

Other measures and mechanisms need to be introduced. There is possibly a law or system that can be introduced whereby the cameras used by gardaí and in the GoSafe vans could be used in a vehicle that is being driven along at the speed limit, rather than a vehicle stationary on the road, and everything that goes past that vehicle and is over the limit would be caught on the camera. That could be done. We need more ways of doing things but that requires not more legislation but more enforcement of the present legislation. That is the big issue people have. We need enforcement and investment, including investment in education. We need to see more graphic advertisements on the television to ensure people understand the gravity of the consequences of driving too fast, driving while intoxicated, not wearing safety belts or using mobile phones will driving. We all know the latter has become one of the issues that is causing more and more traffic collisions. People are driving with their knees and using their phones to text. I have seen that happening and I have spoken to people who see it on a regular basis. We need a way to detect that and stamp it out. It is one of the key factors in the increasing number of incidents.

As I said, we welcome anything that will reduce road deaths. The provisions in this Bill are part of the recommendations that came out of the review of speed limits. However, that review did not examine compliance with existing limits. That is the big concern we have. The reason there is such low compliance with the existing limits is that the enforcement is not in place. Until we get that right, we are wasting our time. This legislation may have merit, and we will look at it, but the Minister of State is going down the wrong track if he thinks it is going to be the saviour of everything. Clearly, that will not be the case. We need efficient legislation but we also need proper enforcement and proper investment in our road infrastructure.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Creidim gur píosa reachtaíochta rí-thábhachtach atá anseo agus, mar a dúirt mo chara díreach romham, tá fadhbanna bunúsacha ann. Ní hé go bhfuilimid ag cur ina choinne ach ní fiú reachtaíocht a rith anseo ar an nós seo maidir le trácht sa chathair seo nó timpeall na tíre mura bhfuil An Garda Síochána chun a dhéanamh cinnte de, má tá daoine ag briseadh an dlí, agus dlí na mbóithre go háirithe, go bhfuil an Garda ag cur an dlí sin i bhfeidhm agus go bhfuil sraith pionós nó fíneálacha i gceist. Tá siad i gceist ach tá siad in aice le dlí atá ann cheana féin. Feicimid lá i ndiaidh lae nach bhfuil ag éirí linn mar shochaí, agus níl an locht ar an Garda Síochána nach bhfuilimid ag déanamh cinnte de go bhfuil daoine i bhfad Éireann níos cúramaí ar na bóithre ná mar ba chóir.

Tá dainséar mór ann má dhéanaimid athruithe mar seo nach gcloífidh daoine leo agus gur cuma sa tsioc le roinnt daoine toisc nach bhfuil An Garda Síochána ag breith orthu agus iad ag briseadh an dlí, agus go bhfuil ag éirí leo an dlí a bhriseadh de shíor.

Is é an rud atá i gceist anseo ná a dhéanamh cinnte de go bhfuil an dlí i gceart maidir le tástáil ar dhrugaí, ar alcól nó a leithéid, agus go háirithe a dhéanamh cinnte de go bhfuil an dá chóras ó thaobh drugaí agus alcól ag rith lena chéile.

Chomh maith leis sin, tá sé i gceist go mbeadh córas phionóis na bpointí i gceart. Is áit í a bhfuil fadhbanna bunúsacha ann. Ina theannta sin, ba chóir go mbeimid ag díriú isteach agus a dhéanamh cinnte de go bhfuil an t-íos-ráta luais i gceart. Ag caint faoi sin, measaim go bhfuil a lán oibre le déanamh againn timpeall na tíre air sin. Caithfimid a bheith cúramach chomh maith nach bhfuilimid ag ísliú an t-íos-luas go staid ina bhfuil sé dainséarach, uaireanta, má tá an trácht ag dul ró-mhall. Tá an dá trá ann.

Bím ag tiomáint timpeall na tíre le blianta anuas agus tá roinnt de na bóithre ann go dona. Níor chóir go mbeadh an teorainn luais atá orthu mar atá siad mar go bhfuil siad mícheart agus dainséarach. Níl an fhadhb ann ó thaobh an luais sin. Is í an fhadhb atá ann ná an drochstaid atá ar roinnt de na bóithre timpeall na tíre. Maidir le roinnt díobh siúd, is bóithre náisiúnta iad agus bheadh sé go dona dá mbeimis ag ísliú an luas sin seachas déileáil leis an bhfadhb bhunúsach atá ann ó thaobh na mbóithre de.

Last week, I received an answer to a question on the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 that addressed powered personal transporters such as electric bikes and scooters. My question related to the fact that in the case of accidents, users of those vehicles, whether they are travelling at speed, are not liable, unless they are personally sued, for any damage they might cause. Pedestrians are getting smacked into by scooters around Dublin city. Cars are being hit off and cyclists are being banged into because the users of powered personal transporters are going too fast. I have not heard of anybody having an e-bike or e-scooter taken from them as a consequence of misuse in recent weeks or months. There is misuse of those vehicles. They are brilliant for transporting people from A to B and they work well in the city, if operated properly.

Some of them are souped-up. The people on them are totally in black and are not wearing high-vis jackets, and are no lights on them. There does not seem to be any attempt to make sure that this danger on our roads is addressed. I also want to highlight the need to ensure that all of those who are using our roads are using them safely and that in incidents where they are involved in accidents, those who are affected, whether it is the person on these vehicles or the person they have crashed into such as a cyclist are looked after. There is a lot more that can be said. I will finish by saying that the Minister of State needs to encourage the Minister for Justice to look at bringing in dash cams for Garda cars that do not have them. Every other public vehicle in the city seems to have them.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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This legislation is just another attempt by Government to paper over the cracks of years of underinvestment in road safety. Those years of underinvestment are coming home to roost. The legislation is only a small solution to a much bigger issue. We need increased investment in enforcement, education and the quality of our roads. I acknowledge the hard work done by An Garda Síochána in trying to keep our roads safe. I also acknowledge the hard work that the gardaí do when they are first responders to a scene and they witness some of the most horrific scenes. It is impossible for a layperson like me to imagine what they go through. I recognise them for that. They have been let down by Garda numbers since 2009. There were 1,046 gardaí working in our roads policing units in 2009. Last year, the figure was as low as 655. The Government is introducing new legislation today. I accept that new legislation may be needed but we need to get real here. We need to be serious about road safety. The biggest impediment to reducing the number of deaths on our roads is the failure to adequately resource road policing units. We need to see consequences for bad behaviour. Unless we adequately resource our roads policing units to detect people who are drink-driving, drug-driving or using their phones while driving, the numbers of collisions, fatalities and life-changing injuries will continue to increase.

I live in Dublin and I drive daily. I cannot remember the last time I was stopped at a checkpoint, which is because of the lack of Garda resources. I recall that when I first started driving, and I was a nervous first-time driver and used to drive around, I would be stopped on a regular basis. That has not happened in my area, on my way in and out of work, or even when driving for leisure, in a long time. I cannot remember the last time I was stopped. I am sure the public would feel the same. We need to properly resource our road policing units.

As part of budget 2024, €150 million was cut from road safety and roads maintenance by the Government. The result of this Government approach has led to road networks in many areas being left in unacceptable condition. Current legislation is not being enforced, yet the Government is setting about introducing even more legislation without developing a real plan.

Parts of my area are in the midst of some large-scale developments. Both the Adamstown and the Clonburris strategic development zones are under construction. One of the issues that has arisen is the delay in the taking charge of roads by South Dublin County Council. When a residential development is completed in accordance with all the conditions and particulars of the planning permission, the developer may make a written request to the planning department of the council to have the estate and the roads and services in the area taken in charge. When the developer does not make this written request or a delay occurs, the road networks in my area run into problems. I will provide a particular example. The sequencing of traffic lights on Adamstown Park, Adamstown Road and Adamstown Boulevard is causing major delays and concerns for the people and residents in Lucan. The Sinn Féin councillor in the area, Derren Ó Brádaigh, has made numerous representations to South Dublin County Council to have this matter resolved but because the roads have not been taken in charge, the council is not taking any responsibility. The developer is way too slow to respond. This is leading to a situation where motorists and pedestrians in Adamstown are hindered by inadequate sequencing of traffic lights. I ask the Government to take a good look at the taking-in charge process, and to make it easier for local authorities to make our roads run smoother and safer-

I also want to ask about what consultations the Government and the Minister of State have had with families who have been left bereaved by fatal road incidents. Leo Lieghio is a member of the Irish Road Victims' Association. His daughter, Marcia, was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Clondalkin more than 18 years ago. She was only 16 years old at the time. Since Marcia's death, Leo has campaigned tirelessly to improve road safety so that other families may not have to go through what he did. In fact, I first raised this issue when I was a councillor back in 2016. I am aware that the Minister for Justice and the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Chambers, met with the group last year. I ask that both Departments have more consultation before any of this legislation is enacted.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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We know that road deaths have increased, and have increased significantly, so I not only welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill but welcome the Bill itself. The legislation will mark a good step forward in what needs to be an ongoing effort to ensure the safety and well-being of every individual on our roads, including drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and all road users. However, I feel this Bill cannot stand alone in the bid to address road safety. Ireland has witnessed far too many tragedies resulting from road accidents. The loss of lives, the shattered families and the communities left grieving serve as stark reminders for an overdue urgent need for action.

A total of 184 people died in 173 fatal collisions in 2023, compared to 155 deaths in 149 collisions in 2022. This represents an increase of 29 deaths, or a 19% rise. A 19% rise constitutes a crisis that I think we all recognise. It is clear that there is a need for change now. So far this year, there have been 21 fatalities on our roads, a number and trend that if continued throughout the rest of the year will result in yet another rise in the level of road deaths in this country. After so many years of hard work in reducing the number and having the consistent trend downwards, the Minister of State, like all of us, will acknowledge that this trend is something we cannot tolerate and something that needs to be turned around. I acknowledge that the Bill is an attempt to do that.

The attitudes of the drivers on our roads who do not adhere to speed limits, abuse substances and drive recklessly are a danger to every other road user, including themselves. The Minister of State and his Department need to examine this issue in a broader context as a symptom of societal issues that need to be addressed. To that point, we need to see a crackdown on the staggering number of drivers who, as shown by a report in The Irish Timeslast year, are driving around on provisional licences and have never taken the driving test. Some of them any have no intention of driving or may be sitting on waiting lists but the reality is that before they are accredited safe drivers, they present a risk to others on the road.

RTÉ reported last week that a driver on the M1 in Balgatheran, County Louth was apprehended travelling at speeds at 228 km/h over the bank holiday weekend. This was one of approximately 3,000 motorists who were detected speeding that weekend. Over that weekend there was an increase in Garda resources and detections and that resulted in the high number of motorists being caught. That shows that if we have the resources, we will catch and apprehend people who are breaking the law and speeding. It is instances such as these that make legislation such as this Bill so necessary. Along with that, however, we need to see more gardaí on our roads, such as we saw on the bank holiday weekend. According to the Minister for Justice herself, road detections last year decreased and road deaths were up. There is a clear correlation. There is no clearer barometer for a need to increase Garda resources than this.

On this, the Government will say that the budget for An Garda Síochána is the highest it has ever been. Of course it is, but we have the largest population we have seen since the Famine, and it is growing. Just having the highest of level of funding for Garda does not mean we have the requisite number of gardaí. In fact, we know we do not. We certainly do not have the requisite number of gardaí on our roads. That the budget of the Garda is consistently used as a shield to somehow pretend there are not gaping holes in the service is laughable. The previous speaker, Deputy Ward, referred to the last time he was randomly breathalysed.

5 o’clock

I share a similar experience. I have been driving for 20 years. In the first ten years, I would have been breathalysed regularly as I bumped into random breath tests all over Dublin and the country. I cannot remember the last time I bumped into a random breath test. I think it was on the quays, probably about five years ago. Talking to our friends and people in our circle, they say the same thing.

One of the key provisions of the Road Traffic Bill is the revision of the default speed limits. This is a long overdue measure. There are too many roads all over the country that, purely due to the speed limit on them, are a real danger. Without the Garda presence to monitor the speed of motorists and intervene in reckless driving, we will see no real change in motorists' behaviour. We all know that speed limits in the eyes of all of us are seen as a guide for what speed to drive at the entire time, not simply as a maximum speed not to exceed. This can be fine on motorways, but in more rural parts of my constituency and in other places all over the country, there are winding roads with 80 km/h speed limits that are frequently poorly lit and can be a real hazard on which to drive. By recalibrating default limits, there is an opportunity to significantly curtail dangerous driving and make unsafe roads safer.

I welcome that this Bill would empower local authorities to tailor speed limits to specific roads where they see fit. Deciding the correct speed limits for roads can and will be a contentious issue for people. Knowing that local authorities can step in should provide certainty for people who are sceptical about these changes. We all know that there is corporate memory and understanding in local authorities. They know where the danger spots are. We need to rely on their knowledge and work with them to help make our roads safer.

If we bring in laws which people feel are ridiculous or make no sense, they simply will not abide by them. The goal of the Bill should be to make it easier for gardaí to enforce these laws, not to make it more difficult. We know that we can no longer tolerate the reckless disregard for speed limits that endangers lives and undermines the very fabric of our society. Throughout everything that we experience in relation to road safety, there is one eternal truth, which is that speed kills. Furthermore, the introduction of significant reforms to penalty points systems in the Road Traffic Bill, both through fixed charges and court convictions, is increasingly important. Under this legislation, individuals who accrue multiple fixed charges for penalty point offences committed simultaneously will face proportional penalties reflective of their actions. Similarly, those convicted in court of such offences will be subject to the full weight of the law, ensuring that accountability is upheld and justice is served. Closing this loophole is vital.

The statistics around penalty points are frankly shocking. As of 30 September 2023, a total of 551,245 people had points on their licences. This represented an increase of more than 8,000 from the same date in 2022. More than half a million drivers have penalty points. Most of these drivers - just under 400,000 - had three penalty points. Some 36,809 had two penalty points and 59,000 had six points. Overall, 17,000 drivers had seven or more penalty points, with a total of 895 drivers across the country having 12 points. Last year, I welcomed the Minister of State's creative measures to tackle speeding by doubling penalty points on bank holiday weekends. Unfortunately, it is clear from the statistics over the recent bank holiday and from last year as a whole that these measures alone will never fix the issue. Addressing the behaviour of drivers with a 365-days-a-year approach is needed.

I want to see a more succinct way of reducing the number of road deaths. That has to be included in the expansion and improvement of our public transport services nationwide. With the population increase, allied to our lack of public transport options, particularly in rural and commuter areas, too many people in Ireland are still forced to have to get into their cars. More cars on the road will equal more accidents. It is a simple sum. Accidents on the road will decrease the fewer cars there are. This means we need to see a continued commitment of faster action on our big infrastructure projects. The full delivery and roll-out of BusConnects and MetroLink are vital, as well as Cork Luas, an increase in our commuter rail network, and BusConnects in our other major cities. People want to make use of public services. We have seen an increase in bus use. I will credit the Minister of State and some of the Government measures to reduce fares for that. Where BusConnects has been rolled out, we have seen an increase in public transport use. We need to get further action and energy behind it.

The condition of our national roads also has to be made a Government priority. We know that TII warned the Minister, Deputy Ryan, in 2022 that a failure to properly invest in new road projects and improvements could result in 77 deaths and 381 injuries over the next five years. With road deaths continuing to trend upwards, we need to ensure that investment in maintenance of our national roads is increased to ensure they are made safe. This is not a climate issue. It does not cut across any of the climate agenda. Maintenance of our existing road network is vital for all. Continued improvements in active travel and safe cycling networks will make the roads safer for all users.

Recognising the evolving nature of substance abuse and its impact on road safety is absolutely vital. The move to expand the mandatory intoxicant testing to encompass not only alcohol but also drugs in this Bill is welcome. The warning signs have been there to show that drug driving has increasingly become an issue, as much as driving under the influence of alcohol. Gardaí have made it clear that the prevalence of substance abuse among motorists has been on the rise and that this is an issue that cannot be ignored by Government any longer. It is welcome to see provisions on that in the Bill. By mandating comprehensive testing protocols, more individuals will be deterred from endangering themselves and others through reckless behaviour behind the wheel. However, mandating it in legislation is one thing; having the resources to actually police it on the roads is another, to refer back to my earlier point.

We need more work on awareness of what puts people over the limit. I am thinking of prescription drugs which can impair driving. With drug testing becoming mandatory, it is even more important that people are educated on which medications are safe to take while driving and which can, and often do, impair both their driving and their judgment. Codeine, for example, is a commonly prescribed drug and will come up as a positive result when tested by gardaí. If that is coupled with evidence of motorists being impaired when driving, such as weaving back and forth, they would end up with the same charge as those individuals who may have consumed an illegal substance. They are still intoxicated while driving. This is where increased education is so important. There needs to be a renewed effort from all parties involved to increase awareness of the issue of impairment when driving while on prescribed medication.

Ultimately, our goal has to be to decrease road deaths to zero. The methods to do this will, for some, seem radical. We all know there has been a backlash against the idea of lowering default speed limits, for example, but we now find ourselves with no other choice. Whether it is seen as radical or not, as a society, we have to acknowledge that the abuse of speed limits has become a key factor in road deaths. The number of people dying on our roads cannot be allowed to become a new normal. We had years of progress on road deaths and the trends were going in the right direction. Unfortunately, those have been reversed. Vision Zero has, for me, become a static document. We need renewed energy for that document and its vision to reduce our road deaths to zero.

Let me be clear that the passage of this Bill is but one step in a larger, more multifaceted journey towards achieving Vision Zero for road fatalities. It will require collective action, unwavering resolve, sustained investment in infrastructure, education and enforcement. We also need to see improvements in driver behaviour.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. As we start, there is not a family in the country that has not been affected in some way by road deaths. We are no different from that. The context of this Bill is the increase in road deaths over the last while and the terrible trauma that is inflicted on the family, the person who loses their life and the consequences of that. We have to sympathise, in the first instance. We also have to say that we need to bring forward rules and regulations in a data-based context to ensure that we have important legislation underpinning and encouraging road safety.

I meet many people across the country. They talk about the challenges they face and the communities that have lost people. We need to have greater awareness of a number of issues. That has to start with the basics in schools, primary schools and secondary schools to educate young people on the dangers of motor-propelled vehicles and the responsibility that all of us have when we take to the wheel and the roads, not only for ourselves but for the wider community.

An awful lot of good work has been done on that but, unfortunately, road deaths have increased. Looking at any of the statistics around specific road deaths, it is a challenge to say what went wrong or what the issue was that caused those deaths. We cannot just finger-point. We have to create a proper environment within the national psyche whereby we are talking to everybody about improved recognition of the challenges being faced on Irish roads, including the increase in population, and the increase in car numbers and people travelling on the roads, and the consequences of that.

I am concerned about a number of issues, including TII reports on an increase in funding for infrastructural projects that will reduce the challenges in respect of dangerous junctions throughout the country. I understand that a budget is provided every year by the TII for specific, dangerous junctions and challenges around road safety issues. That budget has to be increased. Very serious recognition must be made by the Department and TII, right down to local authority level, to make sure they eliminate the challenges with dangerous junctions. Some of them have been around for quite some time. We saw the excellent work done by Cork County Council and TII, in co-operation, on Ballymaquirk junction last year. People talked about the massive improvement the work has had on that junction. That can be replicated throughout the country. It is very important that funding is provided. That is one part of the equation. Funding has to be provided to address the issues in that regard.

Issues have developed as regards driver behaviour. A lot of work has been done to try to educate people. We now have a drive to make sure road deaths are reduced to zero. That is a very challenging issue. The Bill is part of it. It is also important there is a common-sense approach to any of the changes in the speed limits. They should be provided for and supported by data and information, not just at a national level but on a regional and local level. Where decisions are being made to reduce the speed limits, particularly from 80 km/h to 60 km/h, they should be based on fact and there should be information to show that this is the right thing to do. If there is no such information, we have to acknowledge the difference and say, "No. That it is not the right decision on this occasion", depending on the roads. Public consultation, public engagement and the launch of a public information campaign have been spoken about. It is important, within all our communities, that TII, local authority management, the Department and public representatives engage with local people and ask what the concerns and challenges they face are.

A lot of the time, ideas or the way to resolve particular issues can come from local communities. For example, we have seen that intersections between regional roads and national secondary roads can be dangerous junctions that have been there a long time. It is important, however, that we make sure we do not throw out the baby with the bathwater, that we have a common-sense approach to changes that are made, and there is consultation locally and nationally. If we do not do that, we will alienate people. The most important ingredient in all of this, and how we go about reducing road deaths, is to make sure that we have buy-in from local communities, that they understand what we are doing, and it is not a case of a rule being made and the concerns or issues of local communities being disregarded.

Throughout our communities over the past 20 years, local communities came together to fundraise for CCTV cameras. Those cameras were put up on a voluntary basis, but there is still a logjam between the Department of Justice and local authorities as to who the data collector is, or who the people who control the data are. That legal issue has not been resolved. GDPR and all the other issues need to be resolved because CCTV is a powerful tool in the collection of data and a deterrent to make sure the rules are enforced. For many of the rules of the road we are talking about, enforcement is much more important than changing the goalposts or the rules. If enforcement was there, it would be a deterrent. We need a cohesive approach to enforcement and education, starting very young in outlining what the challenges are when people go behind the wheel of a car.

Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. There is no doubt we are facing a serious surge in deaths and injuries on our roads. My thoughts go out to the families, friends and communities of those who have died or been injured on our roads. I appeal to everyone to be conscious that road safety measures are there to protect lives - their own and the lives of others. However, the Government is also responsible for safety on our roads. It is responsible for the implementation of laws but, unfortunately, it is failing in this area. This is not directed towards the Garda, which is shockingly under-resourced, with the road policing section falling significantly since 2011.

I will give a couple of examples from my constituency. The Minister of State is aware that for some time the roads around Hollywood-rath, Hollystown and Tyrrelstown are being used as a racetrack night after night. That then moved to Blanchardstown town centre and for a number of months the M3 garage near Damastown. Residents of Littlepace, and businesses near the M3 garage and around Damastown raised this with the Garda and the council. There was some movement on it in the council chamber yesterday evening. However, there is a lack of enforcement due to a serious lack of gardaí. They are doing their best but are unable to properly police our community. Last week, I was sent a video of two cars hurtling down Damastown Road racing each other. Another car came from the side of the road, lost control and smashed into public lighting. That there was not a fatality is only down to luck. It was predicted, however, that it was only a matter of time before a serious accident happened.

One of the biggest frustrations is the difference in road speed limits. For example, the speed limit on the three-lane M3 from the former Travelodge to Ashtown roundabout is 60 km/h. Yet, along the Porterstown Road, a small, old-style country road that passes from St. Mochta's to around Porterstown Park, Castleknock Hotel and Castleknock GAA club, the speed limit is also 60 km/h. It makes no sense. I urge Fingal County Council to move swiftly to reduce the speed limit on the Porterstown Road to allow road safety measures to be put in place. Speed limits need to make common sense to people if they are to get buy-in. This was also mentioned by the previous speaker.

I also request a review of the company employed to run the speed camera vans. Some of their locations in my constituency defy logic, including Blakestown Road adjacent to Huntstown, the N3 at Little Chef, and Mulhuddart Cemetery. I would like to know what the criteria are for the positioning of these vans. I suggest that we recommend one is put on Damastown Road where these car meets take place if we cannot have enough gardaí to police these types of activities.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Road safety must remain an absolute priority for all of us. I welcome most aspects of the Bill. I have some difficulties with elements of it, which are not terribly different from the ones that have just been highlighted.

Part 2 of the Bill seeks to overhaul the way penalty points are applied, or certainly the number of them that can be imposed at any given time. Under the new regime, a person who is alleged to have been detected committing a series of offences will incur cumulative sanctions. That is an important deterrent. In January 2024, according to the Road Safety Authority, more than 500,000 penalty points were applied to licences, 26,000 of them in the county where I live.

I will break those numbers down. More than 380,000 drivers were hit with three penalty points in a single instance. The current range of offences that incur three penalty points covers things like speeding, dangerous overtaking, not wearing a seatbelt, dangerous overtaking of a cyclist and driving without a valid NCT. However, offences like speeding can be combined with offences such as dangerous overtaking and there will now be a clear way to sanction those in tandem. The changes proposed are logical in that you are breaching a multiplicity of road traffic offences. Drivers will face a tougher sanction for doing that. I am not sure how many people make multiple breaches of the road traffic laws in one go, but the proposed changes will give people something to think about and will certainly be a deterrent. It will hopefully change behaviour. We are not looking for more people to get penalty points. We are looking for people to think about how they will avoid penalty points through this being a sanction, and their being aware of it. This will hang on detection and enforcement, which will depend, in addition to the GoSafe vans, on resourcing of Garda units that follow this up. The vans only detect speed. Resourcing of police road units is the only way if there will be a multiplicity of offences prosecuted. The only way to do that will be for the road policing to be sufficient to do it. Even seeing the Garda vehicles of the traffic corps can be a deterrent in its own right.

The 2014 Act was amended by the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023. Among other things this extended insurers' access to endorsement details to include disqualifications. Again, that was obviously quite important and I am not sure everybody really appreciates that. In late 2023 I asked about the relevant section of the 2023 Act, which had not yet commenced. Will the Minister of State provide us with an update of when that will happen?. It is one thing for us to pass legislation. It is another thing for that legislation to be signed into law or enacted. I absolutely see the merit of the proposed changes to intoxicant testing, which will put the testing regime on the same footing as alcohol. Any substance that impairs a driver's ability to concentrate effectively or operate a vehicle in a safe manner has to be interrogated. There will of course be exceptions for those with a certified medical condition.

I turn to speed limits. There is a degree of confusion about this. If I start driving on the M4 at Leixlip, that is 120 km/h. I then go on to the N4, which is 80 km/h. I then go onto the N4 at the Chapelizod bypass, which is 60 km/h. It then goes back up to 80 km/h. It is a segregated road. I know you will be coming towards junctions, but you will not be going down the Chapelizod bypass. I do not think that makes a lot of sense. If you are looking for where you are most likely to see a speed camera, you are more likely to see it on some of the safest roads in the country. You are likely to see it on the N4, the M7, the M9 or the M1 and in places where a location is provided to put one of those vans. The roads it is most difficult to get those vans on are the ones where you are most likely to see accidents. That kind of makes a mockery of detecting. That does not just include the vans but also traffic police who are out with what are known as hairdryers as a way to measure speed. However, you only really see it in safe locations. That would give you pause for thought about some of the locations. Another issue is traffic accidents. The most likely time for traffic accidents is not 4 a.m. - it is peak morning and evening. You can hear that on the morning and evening traffic reports. There will tend to be a lot of accidents, but they will not be major ones. The ones where you get people speeding is where there is no traffic on the road. That is at different times of the day. There is sometimes a feeling that it is fish in a barrel with regard to some locations and speeding tickets, which is where there are safe, segregated roads - some of the widest roads in the country. When you design a road and want to reduce speed, you do not have a wide expanse, you narrow people's vision. That is part of the reason traffic calming is done in such a way that you narrow vision and people naturally reduce speed. There is a difficulty when we provide good roads, which have a speed limit that is maybe lower than a boreen which has an 80 km/h speed limit. That kind of conflict confuses people as to the approach.

Every five years local authorities have to do a plan. The last time they did one in County Kildare - I think there is a new one due soon - my councillor colleagues on Kildare County Council had an issue with some of the direction they were being given. They argued it would make some of the roads less safe in some of the locations where the speed limit was to be increased from 60 km/h to 80 km/h. Some of this was around a sports centre where there was a lot of activity with youngsters going in and out. There were major rows where there was no flexibility. The councillors were constantly told this was a national scheme so there would be coherence for drivers, but people know their own localities. Some of what was pointed out to the council did change, but it took a battle to change it. There has to be some degree of flexibility where it is patently obvious there will be a problem if the speed limit is increased in an area with a lot of pedestrian and vulnerable traffic. I am concerned this flexibility will end up not being applied. You can obviously engineer out speed zones where they are deemed to be dangerous. Councillors were told that engineering solutions, traffic calming or whatever could be put in place, but there were no budgets to do it. These things have to be accompanied by more than a guideline that is pretty much mandatory around the country for coherence. It has to be accompanied by the ability to deal with some of the obvious shortcomings of the road system that will lead to accidents.

I agree with some of the previous speakers about better options for public transport. I tell the Minister of State that I am sick and tired of talking about the shortcomings of BusConnects. There are some good things with BusConnects, but when there are shortcomings they are monumental. They pretty much eliminate a service for some people. As far as I am concerned the NTA does not want to hear about it. They will tell you before they put the service in that you should go back to them and they can do this, that and the other. When you go back to them you will be completely dismissed. The people who are most likely to be impacted by that are older people and people who have less ability to get on and off several buses.

I will not lose an opportunity to make that point because I think there are failings in BusConnects that are impeding people from using a service they might have been able to use previously. We need to look seriously at that because the more people we can put on public transport the better, thereby reducing the number of cars on the road and obviously reducing accident rates as well. That needs to be part of the mix.

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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I agree with Deputy Murphy on the location of GoSafe vans, Garda cars or whatever it might be. They tend to be in the very last place you would want them, unfortunately. I am not sure they promote road safety for the vast majority of drivers because they probably should be in the tough-to-reach locations. All that said, just before Christmas on the new M9, I passed a Garda car and a couple of hundred metres later I discovered that such a thing exists as a stealth garda, because he was hiding between two stanchions of an overbridge on the M9. I am happy to report I was not exceeding the speed limit, but he put the fear of God into me when I spotted him at the last second. I am not sure what he was doing there, but he had a speed gun in hand which is probably good to report in the context of this discussion.

I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss this important Bill. As has been said during the course of the debate, the Bill focuses on three key areas, namely speed limits, penalty points and drug testing. The Bill proposes to make our roads safer for all those who use the road network and I hope it will save lives. The Bill before us will reduce speed limits at varying levels on national roads, local roads and roads in urban areas. As with many colleagues, I have regular contact with residents concerning speeding in urban areas specifically. I think of particular areas in my own constituency, such as Swords where I meet many young families on a regular basis when out canvassing. I know there is major concern locally about the speed limits on our roads. The previous speaker mentioned that it can vary from time to time. What used to be a rural road may now be at the end of housing estate in one of the many expanding communities in north Dublin and have the sign with the diagonal line suggesting that the national speed limit of 80 km/h applies. Often that is very inappropriate for the location. Any Bill that assists the local authorities and the NTA in remedying that and putting in appropriate speed limits is to be welcomed.

We have seen worrying trends in road fatalities which is the basis of this Bill. I note that between 2021 and 2022 there was a 15% increase in number of road fatalities. In 2023, a total of 188 people lost their lives on our roads. Unfortunately, there has been a year-on-year rise in the number of fatalities. The trend not only arises in the number of fatalities, but also in fatalities per 1 million of population. Many people will recall in the late 1990s and early 2000s that road fatalities were significantly higher than they are today despite dramatically fewer cars on the roads. I suppose we could say there is somewhat of a statistical good news story in the fact that fewer people are dying per vehicle on the road. However, unfortunately, as we all know, any life lost on the road is unnecessary and preventive measures, such as this Bill, should be enacted as quickly as possibly.

I also welcome corrective measures in the Bill that close anomalies associated with the administration of penalty points. I was on the justice committee and the public accounts committee during previous incarnations when penalty points were being discussed. I am pleased to see those matters being resolved. Currently, if two penalty-point offences are committed on the same occasion, only one set of penalty points - the highest or joint highest - is awarded to the driver. This is in contrast to instances where offences are committed on different occasions where the driver receives penalty points for each infraction. The introduction of penalty points has provided a significant deterrent to breaching road traffic laws and therefore it is of the utmost importance that these anomalies are corrected if we are to maintain the full effect of deterrence measures such as penalty points.

Perhaps one of the most significant measures in the Bill is the introduction of the requirement for gardaí to administer roadside drug testing in the circumstances in which they are required to perform Breathalyzer tests for alcohol consumption. This measure is of particular importance as we are currently in the middle of a boom in the use of recreational drugs. The epidemic of casual drug use is far-reaching and present in every village, town and city in our country. While this matter requires a wide range of Government interventions, I will contain my comments to the provisions in this Bill. Inexplicably, just as there are people who will drink a number of pints and get behind the wheel of a car, there are those who will consume drugs and take to the roads. These individuals present a major risk both to their own lives and to the lives of everybody around them. By introducing mandatory drug testing, we can prevent these individuals from proceeding to cause life-changing carnage on our roads.

To highlight the importance of the measure, in 2023 a total of 7,400 people were arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Some 36% of arrests that were carried out were based on the suspicion that the driver had drugs in their system, which is over 2,600 individuals. By putting drug testing on the same footing as alcohol testing, we will remove the illusion, no matter how deluded, that people can take drugs, drive and not risk the lives of those around them.

I would like to speak to the wider public awareness campaigns which I believe must be renewed and enhanced. Many people will recall television advertising highlighting the dangers of speeding, phone use or alcohol consumption while driving with vivid detail such is the impact on the public psyche. As we all know, the vast majority of young people no longer consume through the traditional media of television and radio. Therefore, I believe that such campaigns must be brought increasingly to newer media such as social media and the wider online space. We have seen the impact of strong public awareness campaigns, particularly in the area of road safety. I welcome the campaigns that have been launched in recent years. They should be built upon and brought to a wider audience.

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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Every community has its own tragic story to tell about road accidents and more sadly, road deaths. No more so than last year which saw a 20% increase in fatalities, and a dreadful 12 months in my county, Tipperary. Yet the Government saw fit to cut the road maintenance and road safety budget by €150 million. Does the Government see this opportunity here today to whitewash that and disguise that fact? Is it using it to disguise the fact that the N24 project, which aims to make that notorious road fit for purpose, has been subject to regular funding uncertainty, causing the council and the community to appeal to the Minister cap in hand? Is the Government deflecting from the cut in Garda numbers? We have a serious problem on our roads and the preventive measures are inadequate. We all know that some motorists cannot get where they are going fast enough, irrespective of the road or weather conditions and they put others in danger.

In my office in Cashel, I frequently hear Garda or ambulance sirens shortly after there has been moderate or heavy rainfall. However, GoSafe vans are missing from locations where people are flagrantly flouting the rules of the road. We need a physical deterrent in locations like these instead of in areas that GoSafe operators regard as easy options.

This brings me to the review of default speed limits. I accept that in certain areas this is needed, but in others it is not. For those motorists who just do not care and who break the 80 km/h limit regardless, no designated limit will change their habits without the physical deterrent of MIT checkpoints, speed vans and so on. Where reducing limits may not be appropriate, road maintenance and safety measures are needed.

I hope the Bill's changes to the penalty points anomaly might act as a deterrent by penalising people for all offences they commit, not just the most severe, but it is one of many actions needed. Across County Tipperary, I have become aware of motorists having tyres and wheels written off because of the state of the roads. This is a danger but can be addressed if the resources are targeted where they are needed.

I welcome the introduction of mandatory roadside drug testing at the scene of a crash where injury has occurred. However, again this is an action taken after the crash or tragedy has occurred. This Bill is incomplete. The Department must engage with the Opposition to develop a plan that tackles the challenges on our roads in real time. We need a suite of measures, reinforced with commitments to fund and to act in the areas of physical deterrents, Garda numbers, road safety and maintenance measures. Ad hocBills like this are not sufficient. Motorists deserve a more comprehensive plan.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his presence and for this Bill. I am old enough to remember that it was the late Séamus Brennan as Minister for Transport who introduced penalty points. He just got tired of people pussyfooting around the issue and putting obstacles in the way of bringing in something pragmatic. He went for it and introduced it. It had a dramatic impact on driver behaviour and, more importantly, road casualties.

I have become aware as a public representative, as no doubt the Minister of State and Ceann Comhairle have, that people want to be consulted on things. One of the things leading to fringe elements protesting is frustration among people who feel they are not consulted about anything. They wake up and see dramatic infrastructural and structural changes on their roads without input or say-so. When they lift the phone or send an email to find out who is responsible, they never get an answer. If the public was consulted on this issue, it would undoubtedly say police are not visible on our roads. Speed traps as we used to know them have all but disappeared and road traffic police have almost vanished from parts of the city. That is no fault of Garda members. It is just the numbers. We have to do better on that. I know the Minister of State is committed to that. When the Garda is equipped with this legislation, it will assist it in doing its job more effectively, but without a sufficient number of gardaí, these changes will be difficult to implement.

What do people want? Law-abiding drivers comply with the speed limits, rules of the road and directional signs but see others contravening all those things, never mind drink and drug driving, which we will come to. When the small things are penalised and dealt with by law enforcement, however, it gives those law-abiding drivers an awful lot of confidence. One thing that can assist us in this is cameras, which the Minister of State spoke about. We need more cameras in the city at junctions. That would save the police much time regarding the breaking of red or amber lights.

I am a cyclist and will be very popular for saying this. It is tempting as a cyclist to not obey the lights because you feel you are not as big a danger to someone as a car - and you are not - but the law applies to cyclists and pedestrians as much as to everybody else. We are a country of pedestrians too, many of whom pay little attention to pedestrian signals. When drivers break lights, do not obey road signs and get away with it, it leads to a creeping breaking of the law.

There is a super cycle track under construction in Tallaght. A man recently came to me and said he could not now drive his vehicle, which was legal, licensed and taxed, along this road without impeding the centre white line. He said he had been stopped for impeding the centre white line but his vehicle cannot travel along the lane because it has been narrowed so much. Local authorities in Knocklyon were recently asked to put traffic calming in a particular estate. They came back and said they would put ramps in. They put chicanes in. No one asked for them and no one was consulted about them going in but, in writing, South Dublin County Council said it was going to put in ramps.

One thing not in the Bill concerns residential speed limits in housing estates.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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It is.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Okay. As it is not in the briefing note I got, the Minister of State might come back to that in his answer. As a constituency TD, most of the complaints and requests I get for traffic-calming measures are for within residential estates, which means it is the residents in those estates who are speeding. It seems to be impossible for the Garda. I have never seen gardaí police speeding in a housing estate. I have seen them on secondary and primary roads but there seems to be no mechanism to police estates or even to send a note around saying they have had complaints. It is a soft form of policing but could be effective.

I welcome the changes in the speed limits. Parts of my constituency are rural and residents say speed limits on some sections of rural road are higher than on the N81. Hopefully this will address that.

I echo what a previous Deputy said on the NTA. One of the issues with the NTA is its BusConnects section does not communicate with its cycle track section. That does not seem to be happening. Many cycle track measures in my constituency penalise those who use public transport because they have narrowed the road so much traffic is impeded and it does not allow for bus corridors that could work particularly effectively in some locations.

The Minister of State referred to roads in built-up areas. Does Dublin constitute a whole metropolitan built-up area?

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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No.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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So we are not talking about the speed limits in Dublin being reduced to 30 km/h universally. The Minister of State might elaborate on what he has in mind there.

The drugs measures, drink driving and penalty points have been mentioned. I did not mention them but I support them and there is no point in repeating them. The public wants more police in cars with cameras on secondary and major roads. They see the lack of that as a major contribution to the increase in fatalities. This worthwhile Bill will not work as effectively as the Minister of State wants it to without personnel on the ground.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I agree with an awful lot of what has been said, particularly what Deputy Lahart spoke about. We can have the best legislation in the world but if we do not have the capacity to enforce it, it will be worthless. Many have spoken here about the tragedies we have had on the roads recently. We need to ensure the Garda has the capacity it needs to deal with this sort of stuff.

We all welcome the movement made on drug testing. We have to create the conditions to ensure less and less drunk and drug driving happens. There are societal issues there but we need to make sure we do our part across the board. I do not think there is an elected representative who is not contacted about road safety, speeds and so on. We all accept we needed to review the speed limits, particularly on certain roads, but I am not sure we can do it in the catch-all way that is being looked at. A review of this may be needed.

I have brought up a number of issues with the Minister of State. He dealt with TII and we got some answers although the answers are never exactly what we want. There are questions outstanding about TII and Louth County Council. I will have to get an answer on the N53. That is a road that needs to be looked at. There are plans in place to upgrade it and that would need to happen as soon as possible. There are danger issues in this regard. Jimmy Myers and I had engineers from the council out there not so long ago. At some level, what is coming back is it is an enforcement issue but we need to find a means of dealing with that. It is a particularly dangerous piece of road.

The Minister of State has been to the Cooley Peninsula and would have seen a number of schools that have particular issues, such as at Bellurgan and the Bush Post Primary School. While there are some proposals, we have a wider issue in regard to the crash barriers that are needed at Kilcurry and Shelagh national schools. Wicklow has already opted for a periodic 30 km/h speed limit around schools. I think we need to find a better way of dealing with the particular issues that relate to schools.

We could talk forever about road safety. As I have the Minister of State in front of me, I want to raise the issue of the recent serious flooding in the Cooley Peninsula, which has caused much damage to roads. While some short-term mitigation measures were taken and the money was possibly provided by central government, there is an ask to the Department for €1.6 million.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy should conclude.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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To be fair to Louth County Council, great works must be done. As we really need to get the work done, we need to make sure that money is added in.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Thank you. The time is up.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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The county council cannot make a determination in regard to anything it does at the moment because it does not even have the money to follow through on what would be the regular planning budget.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy is getting very adept at pushing out the boundaries.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I have very poor hearing.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Right. I call Deputy Shanahan.

Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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The Minister of State will be glad to hear that I will not be taking the full allocation of speaking time because a lot of this has been covered already but I welcome that I am able to contribute something to this debate.

At the outset, I recognise the terrible loss that has been suffered by families over many years and decades, but particularly in the last three to five years. Since Covid, we have seen some horrific accidents on the roads and terrible loss of young life in particular, which is something we all want to try to combat.

In his outline, the Minister of State spoke at length about the different implementations he is hoping to bring in with this Bill, some of the reasons he sees for the increasing road accident figures and the difficulty in trying to combat road injuries and road deaths. We can all do a quick flick of what we might think is contributing to that. Carelessness is a big part of it and speed is most definitely implicated, as well as road quality. I would also think driver skill and experience are now a major part of it, with more people on the roads and people driving more powerful cars. There is also the issue of intoxication and the drinking of alcohol, with people falling asleep and so on. It is all down to the management of the individual driver and the car they are in, and understanding that when they are driving, they are also responsible for the other road users they come into contact with, not just themselves and their passengers.

The Minister of State spoke about the nub of the Bill, which is enforcement and slowing overall speed rates, which he sees as the panacea for all of this. I do not agree with him wholeheartedly on that, although it certainly has a role to play. Members have already outlined that people are breaking the speed limits regardless of how low they are and without adequate enforcement, it does not really matter what the posted limit is for people who are going to break the limits.

I also point out to the Minister of State that there is an issue with car quality. In the NCT, we have tried to basically make it mandatory for people to have their cars checked and within that, for older cars, we are really targeting the issues of tyres, suspension, steering geometry and, most importantly, braking systems. That is supposed to be picked up at the NCT but it is only relevant if people are doing the test. Second, the Minister of State will be aware of the delays of six or eight months at some NCT centres. I guarantee the Minister of State that if we walked out to the Leinster House car park today, we would find a couple of cars with tyres that are beyond the minimum legal limit and people are probably not aware of that and are waiting to get it picked up at the NCT.

Another point concerns young drivers. When I started driving, which is more than a few years ago, I and my two brothers were lucky enough to get a banger that could not go past 30 mph. We all learned to drive in that car and we were not a danger to anybody because, to be honest, we were nearly able to be passed out by a guy on a bicycle. It is now the case that if someone wants to buy a young driver an older car, something to slow them down, it cannot be done because they cannot get insured on it. The insurance companies since 2015 have been forcing young drivers into cars that are capable of much higher speeds than the cars people had 20 or 30 years ago, when they started driving. This is not being looked at. Once those kids get their driving test, they are entitled to drive on their own and to put their family and friends into that car and basically, in many cases, they are not being monitored after that. Passing a driving test does not confer any great ability on drivers in terms of responsibility to passengers and other road users, as we see constantly across the country, weekend after weekend. The Minister of State needs to look at this issue.

There are inordinate waiting lists for driving test centres. I cannot understand how it takes so long – up to a year in some cases – for people to receive a test. In terms of the testing itself, I am not sure that what we are testing is requisite for modern driving standards. I know that if people drive for companies in the UK, they will be sent for driver testing. Many of the large pharma companies in the UK send people to speed pans to teach them how to drive a car in the wet and understand the road conditions, the temperature of the road, the water on the road, the visibility at nighttime and the stopping distance they have to exercise when the road surface is different. None of this has been spoken about in terms of driving tests in this country.

We are talking about more enforcement at the roadside. When was the last time the Minister of State saw a garda checking the tread depth of a tyre of a car stopped at the roadside? One of the very first things that would tell us if a car is fit for the road is the quality of the tyres. I believe that should be mandatory at every checkpoint. It used to be done many years ago, although I am not sure if the Minister of State will remember it. Years ago, gardaí used to carry a depth gauge in their pocket to check the cars they stopped. I am not sure if this is done any more but, to be frank, it should be re-introduced. It is similar with regard to lights and even a suspension test is possible at the roadside just by pressing up and down on the four corners of a car. It is not that difficult to do. I guarantee that if it is done with a random number of cars out on the main roads, we would be amazed at the number of cars that are driving with poor suspensions.

There is a lot to be said about the safety systems of modern cars. I will relate a story to the Minister of State. I was recently travelling with somebody in a car and when we went to take the exit off a motorway, he forgot to put on the indicator. His car had a system for lane changing and, basically, as he went left, the car corrected right when another driver was coming up on the inside. We did not have a collision but we could have done. It is similar with emergency braking in that a modern car has a crash prevention system that will jam on the ABS, and if somebody else is driving behind, it could cause a collision. These are all things that we need to speak about with regard to doing tests.

We need to target younger drivers. I heard other speakers say that some people have been driving for a long time without doing a driving test and that may well be the case. However, statistically, they are involved in very few accidents because by virtue of their experience, older people tend to drive more slowly as a rule and get into less trouble. However, we need to do something about the culture among young drivers. Funnily enough, the young drivers I know would certainly not take a drink and drive because it is abhorrent to them but the same people would quite happily get into a car with four of their pals and belt down the road at 80 miles an hour while trying to impress them with the music going. We need to try to impress on young people the damage that is doing. It is heartbreaking every weekend to hear about these accidents that we know are largely preventable, except in exceptional cases. It is down to driver behaviour, watching the roads, having experience, driving a decent car and remembering that you are not infallible and not unbreakable. We need to get that message out there.

With regard to reducing speed limits, I can understand how that works around urban areas. My own city of Waterford has something like 6 or 8 miles of orbital dual-lane road where the speed limit is now 60 km/h. Drivers can then go out onto the primary road, the N25 from Waterford to Cork, and do 100 km/h in a single lane which has not been updated or had roadworks done in 30 years. This Minister for Transport has spent buttons on it - just €4 million in the lifetime of this Government. On that road, people can do 100 km/h, although it is going to be reduced to 80 km/h. This means that if I get into my car to drive to Cork, it will take me probably an hour and 45 minutes to do what is less than an 80-mile journey. We are putting that difficulty onto regional users, salespeople and so on, given there is an impact on all of them.

6 o’clock

I am not saying I do not approve of it. I would like to see how it works. We need to consider what is being done regarding roads, road markings, road coverage and speed limits but, in addition, we have to sort out the accident black spots.

On the issue of Gatso vans, every other weekend a van can be seen in an area on the Dunmore road in Waterford where the speed limit is 30 km/h. As a result of the traffic and all that, very few people exceed the speed limit there. However, many of those who do not know the van is often located there may be doing more than 30 km/h, which is nothing in terms of speed on a good road, and that van is there clocking up revenue all day. I am nearly 60 years of age and I cannot remember a fatality on that road. I cannot even remember a bad accident on it. That is where the Gatso van parks up, yet I can think of ten accident black spots where there is no such van located simply because there is less footfall of traffic there. That is what the operators of the vans are targeting. That is what happens when a system is not about roads enforcement or road safety but, rather, collecting tax and giving a franchise to people to get plenty of fish in a barrel. I ask the Minister of State to look at that issue in the context of what he is proposing.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Deputy for those words of wisdom.

Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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I very much welcome the provisions of the Bill. My children at home, three lads, are at a point where we are trying to give them a little more independence and let them go to the shop by themselves to pick up sweets or whatever it is. We are trying to drum into them road safety and how they should be safe on the roads. While I was thinking about the Bill, I realised the language I am using with them about that is wrong because I am not actually concerned about their road use. Their road use is very unlikely to be problematic. What I am actually worried about is drivers. I am worried about distracted, impatient, speeding or bad drivers.

The Bill goes to the heart of that in a very simple sense. It addresses speed. I have spoken about this previously. God help us, it is 30 years since I studied physics for the leaving certificate and we learned the equation e=1/2mv2. The kinetic energy of any moving body is equal to half its mass times the velocity squared. The fact the velocity is squared is the important part of the equation. The size of the vehicle also matters but it is the less important factor. The faster it goes, the more kinetic energy it has. The more kinetic energy it has, the more dangerous it is in a collision. I have provided these figures previously. The Minister of State is well aware of them; that is why he is taking this action. One in ten collisions involving a car moving at 30 km/h colliding with a pedestrian will result in a fatality. If the car is travelling at 50 km/h, the rate moves to five in ten. If a car travelling at 60 km/h - Members may think, "God, 60 km/h is no great speed" - collides with a pedestrian, that will result in a fatality in 90% of cases.

I am not just worried about fatalities. I want to be able to send my own young fellas down to the shops with a level of comfort and security. Figures for the eight years from 2014 to 2022 indicate that 852 children were seriously injured. We often overlook the definition of "seriously injured". It is an injury that results in the hospitalisation of a child, possibly for a prolonged period, such as a fracture or whatever.

We often mischaracterise the issue of road safety as relating mainly to rural roads. Of course, that is important. God help us, many of the collisions in Waterford in the past 12 or 24 months have been on rural roads. When drilling down into the figures, however, we find that nine out of ten collisions involving a child occurred in urban areas and on roads with a limit of 60 km/h or less. We want to get rid of all those collisions but doing so will require significant change in driver behaviour. What is being done through the Bill is that if we at least slow down the vehicles involved in collisions, the statistics tell us the outcomes will be better.

An issue of concern on which I have previously provided facts and figures is that information on drivers is not collated. When there is a collision involving a child or cyclist or whoever, we find out a lot about the child or cyclist but very little about the driver or the car that was being driven. We should rectify that omission.

I wish to raise a tangential though road safety specific issue. It relates to the close passing of a person in Galway. There is no provision for an online reporting portal for close passes. Anybody who is regularly on a bike knows all too well that when a car passes you at speed with inches to spare, it can be incredibly unnerving. I have been on a bike for many years and am a confident cyclist but, by God, it shakes me up when one of these things passes me at speed. If it is that disconcerting for me, as a confident and experienced cyclist, it will be extremely off-putting for anybody who is looking to make a modal shift, leave their car at home and jump on a bike. The person to whom I refer tried to report a close pass. She started the process on 16 May 2023. Fair play to her, she kept at it. I have seen the video of the close pass. It would shake you up. She had her child on the back of the bike, which was a long-tail cargo bike. The child was extremely frightened as well. It was reported to Traffic Watch but she heard nothing back. Some 38 days later, she phoned again and took a call from a garda. On 12 July, she got back on to them. I could give chapter and verse here. What it all boils down to is that at the end of the process she got a reply on 16 January. She was told to put it on a USB key and send it in again for it to be reviewed, finally. She was then told that a fixed charge notice should be issued but, unfortunately, the statute of limitations on reporting close passes is 107 days and, as more time than that had elapsed since the incident, the Garda could not issue a fixed charge notice. I would not like to hazard a guess as to whether the delay she encountered was strategic or accidental but it is not uncommon. This person stuck at it. I have a list of all the instances. She stuck at it and went back to the Garda more than 15 or 20 times to find out at the end that it could not issue a penalty. This is highly frustrating and it goes to the issue of driver behaviour.

Whereas Deputy Shanahan could not use all the time allocated to him, I could use more than I have.

There has been a lot of talk about enforcement. I agree that if we reduce speed limits, we need to have enforcement in place but I have not heard about the other side of the coin, which is road legibility. I refer to the ring road in Tramore. The speed limit on that road is 50 km/h at present. It is an appropriate limit. The road is in a built-up area and drivers should not do more than 50 km/h on it. Everything about the road screams 80 km/h, however. It is very difficult to drive on that road and adhere to the speed limit. If you drive on the road and adhere to the speed limit, people will either drive up into your bumper or overtake you. As well as enforcement and passing these laws, we need to empower active travel teams to making roads legible in such a way that a road with a speed limit of 50 km/h feels like a road on which you should drive at 50 km/h. Reference was made to roads that pass school gates. There should be visual cues in such instances. Drivers should know they are in that kind of area and be encouraged to drive accordingly.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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I welcome the debate on the Bill but I do not welcome the reactionary nature of what the Government is doing. It is the hallmark of the Government now that it reacts to everything.

Ar an gcéad dul síos, I sympathise with each and every family affected by road fatalities, none more so than those that occurred last summer in Clonmel, Tiobraid Árann, when four young people went out to celebrate after getting their leaving certificate results, or, indeed, the terrible tragedy a few days later in Cashel involving two grandparents and a child.

I refer to the reaction by the Government, however. Of course, the Government was advised by an NGO. It has NGOs for everything now. It has more NGOs than it has had hot dinners. There are 36,000 of them all together, costing €6 billion a year. This general reaction to bring down the limits from 80 km/h to 60 km/h, 100 km/h to 80 km/h, and 60 km/h and 50 km/h to 30 km/h is utter stupidity.

It looks good and it sounds great for Deputy Eamon Ryan, the Minister for doing nothing only destroying people. He will not listen to anyone. At least some words of common sense were uttered there by Deputy Ó Cathasaigh. Roads are built - and he mentioned a ring road - and if people are going slow, they are going to be in the way for others. It is the same with the N24 from Waterford to Limerick. If speed limits on parts of that road are going to be brought down to 60 km/h, it will cause utter chaos. There will be rear-ending, frustration, people passing in dangerous areas and so on. It is utter madness. It is the same story with the Dungarvan to Clonmel road. It is already at 80 km/h and the Minister is bringing it back down to 60 km/h. We might as well go back to the horse and cart or go back to Bianconi who started in Clonmel with his carriages.

The Government should deal with the real issues. We did not get a bob - phingín amháin - for active travel in Tipperary council yet. The funding this year for national and regional roads has not been announced. It is the latest it has ever been. That announcement is always at the end of January or in early February but here we are, hitting the middle of February and there is no sign of it coming. The Government is all bluster, bluff and codology with all of the schemes it has. It is a wonder Deputy Ó Cathasaigh did not mention breaking the speed limit on his cargo bike. He has an invitation from me to go up the Nire Valley, with me on the basket or the front seat, and see how fast he gets up there. Those bikes will go fast but the Government is not talking at all about the scooters and the yokes in towns, on the footpaths with no high-visibility vests or anything.

The Government has decimated the Garda traffic corps, whom I salute for the job they have to do, going out to fatalities and so on. The corps has been more than halved. In Clonmel at the moment, they are like Dad's Army. They have no squad cars or vans and they are fighting over the cars they do have. It is a shame the way they are under-resourced, as is the lack of gardaí. Ordinary gardaí can police the roads as well, if they are there, but we are short in Tipperary. We had 18 gardaí in Carrick-on-Suir but now there are only four. We had 27 gardaí in Roscrea but now there are only seven. It is the same across Clonmel and Tipperary. We were never as short of gardaí. The Government must resource An Garda Síochána, stop giving the money to Gatso vans in the millions of euro and stop trying to earn fast money with penalty points, which are like cash cow machines. We might as well have tar barrels in the road and hand them in the cash but not do anything for road safety.

The Government needs to get real here. It must get real, use a bit of imagination, make the roads safer and lift the Minister's ban on any motorways or new dual carriageways. He just has a fundamental issue and will not allow them to be developed even though it is well known internationally that roads with a median in them are much safer. Lent is coming and we are already suffering. We will probably suffer even more during Lent. I do not mind a small bit of penance but he is penalising the people of rural and urban Ireland on an hourly basis. The sooner he and this Government are removed from office the better and let them take half of the NGOs and the hangers-on with them. We need to get rid of them as well because they have their fingers around the power. They are in front of the Ministers, behind the Ministers, beside the Ministers and are sitting at the table with the Ministers and dictating policy. It is utter folly.

To reduce speed limits from 80 km/h to 60 km/h and from 60km/h to 50 km/h is just a knee-jerk reaction, so that the Minister can say "I did this". He is going to have the power to change it and to change the fees.

Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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I want to offer my sincere sympathy to the loved ones of anyone who has passed away due to a road traffic accident. It is a huge tragedy for families and communities and has happened too many times, unfortunately, for one reason or another. In March 2022, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, conducted an independent study on the implications of reducing speed limits. The findings of this report are both startling and concerning. The report concluded that lowering speed limits would have a negative effect on emissions. More alarmingly, it projected an increase in fatalities, estimating an additional 35 deaths annually. Furthermore, the economic implications are staggering. The report anticipates that the cost of reducing speed limits could amount to a whopping €3.8 billion over a 30-year period. Despite the gravity of these findings, this report which is, to our knowledge, the only internal Government document on the subject, is being overlooked. This disregard is perplexing, especially considering the report's clear indication that reducing speed limits would increase rather than decrease road deaths and impose a cost of nearly €4 billion on the country over the next three decades. The question that arises is why such a significant report is being ignored.

Deputy Ó Cathasaigh said earlier that he has serious worries about this issue. The biggest worry I have is the Minister. First, his absence here tonight is very disappointing because this is a very serious matter. Furthermore, TII advised him in recent years that if he did not invest in certain roads, there would be 77 extra deaths and 381 injuries in five years but he failed to invest. Earlier today, Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan referred to west Cork and accepted, as a Government TD, that the roads budget for west Cork that will be announced on Thursday - I do not know how he knows about it - will be decreased. It is astonishing. He accepted that our roads are in an appalling condition, which they are. I agree with him and have been at him long enough about it. He is on my side now, which is great. I am in the Opposition, which makes it is a bit strange; he is in government but he has not delivered. The bottom line is that west Cork roads are appalling. The Minister of State cannot just nod his head. He should come down to west Cork, sit into my car and I will bring him around the area. If his Deputy has not done it, I will do it and he will see the appalling condition of the roads. They are in an appalling condition. There is no other word for it. There cannot be a brown cent less given in the budget this year. It has to be doubled but of course, the Minister, Eamon Ryan, does not want to invest in roads. What happens when we have a road with potholes and cars swerving left, right and centre? They cannot travel on the road. A road like the N71 has not received proper investment or been given a proper bypass or proper passing bays since the Skibbereen bypass was built 25 or 26 years ago. That is the only bypass that was delivered. We have no bypass in Innishannon, although we keep begging for it. The northern relief road and the southern relief road in Bandon have not been finished. The Bantry relief road has not been finished. This Government is an absolute abject failure and this is leading to absolute frustration when people are driving. Do not tell me that the speed limit on the N71 is going to be brought down to 80 km/h; I cannot travel at 25 miles per hour some of the days there. It is appalling. The Minister of State has to come down to see it. I am being honest. I am quite happy to let him sit into my car and I will go around and show him. He will see it for himself. The speed limit on the R585 and the R586 is being cut from 80 km/h to 60 km/h. That is push bike speed. People have to go to work in the morning. They are stressed to within an inch of their lives but they are trying their best to stay within the limits. Everybody wants to stay within the limits. Nobody wants to break the limits but this Government is going to make sure that they do. As for road markings, they no longer exist on most of the roads in west Cork but that is okay, to hell with it. Flooding comes and the floodwaters take away parts of the road. There is a collapsed road west of Schull at the moment. It is called the bog road and it has been going into the ditch for the past six months. It is astonishing. I urge the Minister to come and see it. He has to see what is going on but he does not and he will not.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I want to say, in relation to the lovely people, not just in County Kerry, who sadly lost their lives, whether they were pedestrians, cyclists or people in motor cars, that in a debate like this we have to recognise those families who have been torn asunder because of losing their loved ones on the roads in whatever way that happened. We are really thinking of those people when we are having this debate. Whatever our angle might be on this debate, and on what is being proposed, we are thinking of those people at this time, as well as the people who will get a call tonight, tomorrow night and every other night, when tragedy will come to their door. We really have to think of those people, as well as of the gardaí, firemen, doctors, nurses, and the council personnel who have to go out and deal with those situations, sometimes on a bad, wet winter's night. We want to think of those people as well, our emergency personnel to whom we are forever indebted.

While I am glad the Minister of State is here, I am very disappointed that the Minister, Eamon Ryan, is not here. It is not a case of kicking a person just because he is not here or some nonsense like that. My goodness, would somebody ever just tell him that he is the Minister for roads and transportation? He is the only Minister for roads that actually hates building roads. He is the only Minister for roads that does not like roads. He would rather have us walking along in the ditch rather than being out on a road. It is totally crazy to think he would not be here for this massive Bill.

Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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It is Minister Chamber's Bill.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I did not interrupt you, Sir, and I would like for you to keep your mouth shut and have manners as well, maybe.

Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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It is the Minister of State's Bill.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I would not dare interrupt you because I was brought up with a thing called manners. It is disgraceful that the Minister is not here tonight and that it is not important enough for his agenda to be here tonight.

I am totally opposed to what is being proposed and I am being backed up by Transport Infrastructure Ireland which conducted an independent survey on the implications of reducing speed. The Government is hiding this fact. TII is saying that it will increase deaths on our roads and will cost €3.8 billion to reduce the speed limits. That is the message that should go out very strongly from here tonight. If the Government gets its way in doing this, it will increase deaths on our roads and will cost us €3.8 billion over a 30-year period. It is not me saying that; it is TII saying that.

Perhaps the Minister of State disagrees. He might disagree with this report. Perhaps that is why the Government is burying the report. What I want from the Government is not a knee-jerk headline reaction like reducing the speed limit and driving people demented on our roads by doing so. I would like the Government to do the practical, ordinary things that we have been asking it to do for a long time - to cut the hedges on the roads, shoot the deer that are meandering onto our roads, take the water off the roads, and make our roads safer to travel.

I know for a fact that on a daily basis Johnny, Maura and Jackie Healy-Rae, the Healy-Rae councillors on Kerry County Council, are continuously highlighting the accident black spots that we have in north, east, south, west and mid-Kerry. These are the problems that we need to be tackled. If the Government tackles those, it will make our roads safer, not telling people that if they are doing 80 km/h they should be doing 60 km/h or if they are doing 100 km/h they should be doing 80 km/h. It is totally crazy what the Government is actually doing. It is going to lead to driver frustration and it will make our roads more dangerous. That has been backed up by reports that the Government is burying and ignoring.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I am glad to get the opportunity to speak on this Bill. I too want to commiserate with all the families who lost family members in recent times or in the past in Kerry or right around the country. It is something any family who lost a family member will never forget. We all sympathise and empathise with them.

I too am very disappointed that the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is not here to listen to this debate. Of course, he is the kind of Minister who knows it all. He does not want to listen to the views of Members. I am sad and disappointed with that. I want that recorded.

Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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It is not his Bill.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I want no impudence from Deputy Ó Cathasaigh. This is absolutely ridiculous. What the Government is actually proposing to do to people that have to travel in motor cars day in and day out is the height of blackguarding. It wants to reduce the speed limit on the road from Mallow to Rathmore to Killarney and back around the Ring of Kerry from 100 km/h down to 80 km/h. It wants people driving up against each other and rear-ending each other. As Deputy Michael Healy-Rae said, they will be frustrated morning, noon and night. It is absolutely ridiculous to suggest doing this.

I accept there are things wrong. The Minister must recognise that there is a massive increase in the volume of traffic on our roads and to deal with that we have to increase the capacity and adjust our roads to make them safer.

Dangerous junctions are not being addressed. If there is a pond of water, when it is late at night and there is a car coming against you, you cannot see where you are going and you drive into it. Trees are falling down on people. A branch fell on someone in a car this year and killed them. What we should do about that now is cut the trees and make sure that no tree is within falling distance of the road but the response is to increase penalty points and reduce the speed limit. They are great lads all right. Fianna Fáil is listening to this and they are going to support it. That is what they are doing.

We could be educating our youngsters who have started to go on the road and do a lot more with them. We could teach them and show them the wrongs and the rights. The Government should be doing more about that.

The Killarney bypass has been stalled. It has been going on for 24 years. At the present time there are six dangerous junctions where people have been killed, maimed and slaughtered, yet the Government will not put the new bypass around it so that these junctions would not be dealing with the current levels of traffic. It is because the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, wants people cycling. He does not want people on roads. He does not want to build roads. He does not want to improve them or do anything to help the people.

A very serious thing is happening that we all hear about every day. It is when someone is trying to turn right and there is a line of cars behind them because there is a line of cars coming against the first car and it cannot turn right. The next thing is that some fellow who is four or five cars back comes up and the fellow who was at the front trying to turn right is blown away by a car because he does not know what is happening. That needs to be addressed.

I gave an idea to the RSA a few years ago on how to resolve the problem. What the cars behind the car turning right should all be taught to do is to put on their right indicator so that everyone in the line knows that someone is turning right. It was a bus driver who told me that. The RSA is not doing anything about that. What it is going to do is increase the penalty points and reduce the speed limits. That is absolutely ridiculous. The Government is doing nothing but blackguarding. The sooner it is put out of this place the better. The people are waiting for them, whether they come on a bike or in a car.

Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent)
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I extend my commiserations to the families of anyone who has lost their life on the road. If we want to make laws, we have to use all the information that is given to us, and we must not bury it. Transport Infrastructure Ireland has statistics but the Government did not listen to it. The Government wants to reduce speed limits in areas without using the proper statistics. What the Minister is doing is reducing speed limits.

In this country we have what we call black spots where accidents have been reported on certain parts of certain roads but nothing has been done to improve them bar a sign being put up to say it is an accident black spot. We have a lack of policing on our roads due to the Commissioner and the Minister not listening to 97.8% of the gardaí that police this country. That is a statistic of which the Government should be aware.

Another statistic relates to the lack of Garda services. I and councillors around the country have asked for speed ramps in towns and villages where we do not have policing because a speed ramp polices itself. It automatically slows people down. To me, that is common sense. The Minister is bringing in laws but we do not have policing. I am asking the Minister to use a simple common-sense approach and to put speed ramps in towns and villages. They police themselves, automatically slow down traffic, and save lives.

If we look at the statistics from TII on all the different road users on the transport network, one of the main causes of accidents is fatigue. All the signs encourage people to please pull in for a break to avoid fatigue. People are encouraged to get a cup of coffee and to take a rest if they are on a long drive. The Government is reducing the speed limits for the transport network around this country and the statistics are pointing to fatigue. Does the Minister know that truck drivers have a driver's card and they are only allowed to drive for so many hours a day and they have to take breaks? Does he realise that by reducing the speed limit on roads in Ireland he is adding extra trucks on the roads for the transport network in this country? He is also adding extra buses on the roads. He is also asking people to get out of bed earlier. Children going to school where there have been no reports of accidents on the roads are being asked by the Minister to get up earlier. Bus drivers are being asked to drive for longer and, in doing so, to burn more emissions, which he talks about, because the vehicle must travel at a certain speed to burn off the carbon within engines. There are no drivers for the trucks or the buses, yet the knee-jerk reaction is to reduce the speed limit.

I urge the Minister to look at the accident black spots and the reduced speed. The Government should invest in the Garda in this country and listen to the 98% of gardaí who voted against the Commissioner. The Minister agreed with him. The Government is not listening to the statistics. I totally agree that we must reduce speed in certain areas of the country. I will back the Minister 100% on that. He is proposing 60 km/h here and 80 km/h there. He has not looked at it. In places there are motorways. The road near me in Bruff is 80 km/h at the moment. If it is reduced to 60 km/h, those on electric bike and scooters, and those on the low horsepower vehicles the Minister talks about, can also do 50 km/h to 60 km/h. The cars will be passed out on the side of the road. The Minister is going to cause carnage and put everyone together. He should please look at this realistically and hit the areas where there are accidents.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Deputy.

Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent)
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He should deal with where the accidents are and not put a blanket ban everywhere.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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People are getting their blood pressure very high.

People were anxious to have the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, come in, to have a go at him, I am sure. The reality is this legislation was initiated by the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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It is a Fianna Fáil Bill so.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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He brought it forward. It is perfectly legitimate for the Minister of State to be the Minister who is here dealing with this. I am sure he is happy to do it.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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It is Fianna Fáil.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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There are two final speakers before I call the Minister of State. One is Deputy Murnane O'Connor and the other is Deputy Gould.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I too want to speak about fatalities on the roads in the last few weeks and months, which are very concerning. There were 188 road fatalities in 2023, the highest since 2014, when the figure was 192. As of 13 February, there have already been 22 fatalities and 20 collisions on our roads in 2024. One fatality is too many but 22 already in February is worrying. There are families at this moment who are absolutely heartbroken. Their lives have changed forever. We need to work on this. I welcome the change of default speed limits from 50 km/h to 30 km/h for built-up areas, from 100 km/h to 80 km/h for national and secondary roads and from 80 km/h to 60 km/h for local roads. It is important. We must all be mindful that we have a part to play. Introducing much-needed legislative reforms on penalty points, mandatory drug testing and speed limits will provide a robust response to this by targeting some of the most dangerous behaviours. I wish to ask the Minister of State, as did previous speakers, about enforcement. What is the plan? It will be important.

I spoke to the Minister of State several times in the past week. I have huge concerns that when a local authority contacts TII regarding the safety of roads and proposed projects. There is a huge delay in getting approval. Then, a project manager needs to be appointed, which takes ages. Then, it goes back to the local authority and you try to find out if part of a road is a priority. It is my understanding that nothing is deemed a safety hazard in making part of a road a priority. These are all worrying signs. We need to tackle anywhere there is an issue with safety on our roads. I always welcome funding from Government. Recently, in Carlow-Kilkenny, and I am sure across the country, we received much funding for cycle lanes and everything to do with cycling, which is fine and welcome. If people in my area contact me and I want a pothole filled or something done, it is becoming a challenge, even for me. As previous speakers said, we need to look at the everyday impacts, whether that is water on roads or potholes, of which there are some in my area. We need to tackle basic safety issues that can lead to devastating consequences. As I said, the Minister of State has been in Carlow several times meeting different groups. He met residents of dangerous sections of roads in my constituency across County Carlow. I am aware of his commitment and that the Government will do its best. This Bill will require members of An Garda Síochána to test for drugs at the scene of serious roadside collisions on the same basis as existing requirements regarding mandatory alcohol testing. I welcome all of this. My biggest fear, which I saw in my area of Carlow, is the timing of when all of this will be rolled out, when it will be enforced and what will happen. I can only go back to roads in my area deemed safety hazards. How can we prioritise roads that really need to be done and get commitment from TII, which is a law unto itself, working through the local authority? These are issues I ask the Minister of State to address. We need to do this.

We all see that traffic is getting heavier. We are back to pre-Covid movement. We need to prioritise roads that need to be addressed for safety reasons as well as tackling behaviours that contribute to fatalities. This Bill will strengthen the deterrent effect of penalty points. Under this Bill, people who pay fixed charges for two or more penalty point offences that occurred on the same occasion will receive two sets of points, the highest two available. We need to do this. Since January, there have been 22 fatalities on our roads and 20 collisions. It is February. We all have a part to play. I ask the Minister of State that roads which need to be prioritised get the priority. I ask him for that commitment. I also ask when we can get this through. I will vote for it. We need to work on this now. As I said, one life lost is too many on our roads.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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Like all of the other speakers, I wish to send my condolences, thoughts and prayers to the families who lost loved ones, last year especially. It was a catastrophic year on our roads. I know the Minister of State knows that. To be honest, this Government is saying one thing but doing another. We have seen budgets cut for road maintenance and safety by €150 million. This is shameful. In my constituency, Cork North-Central, yesterday, there was great fanfare with the opening of the Dunkettle roundabout. Without the northern ring road part, there are still articulated trucks - big heavy vehicles - driving through Parklands, Cathedral Road and Harbour View Road in Knocknaheeny. There is all this great fanfare but what about the people who live in those communities with these massive trucks driving through them?

I will never forget my first day in the Dáil. It was a really proud day for me and my family but the day I came in here, a young girl from my road, Harbour View Road, in Knocknaheeny, had died. I will never forget it. Kimberly O'Connor was her name. She was a beautiful child. She got a lift home off a couple of young guys in a car called a "company car". These cars are uninsured, have no NCT, are not roadworthy and are sold - legally are being sold. This child got a lift and 500 yds and a few minutes later, she was dead. I raise this case in the House because there are people selling cars that should not be on the road. They are allowed to be sold. I ask the Minister of State, even at this late stage, that an amendment be made to the Bill to put the onus of responsibility on the person who sells the car. That car was sold to a couple of young lads who had no driving licence or insurance. They should never have been sold that car. Where is the responsibility? Will the Minister of State and his officials look at that? There is no register for category C or D write-off cars. There is no onus of proof for category A or B cars when they are written off. They are still being sold to people to drive them on the roads. A week or two after Kimberly died, a cyclist for Deliveroo or one of the other food delivery services was killed on the road in Dublin. There is a gap in the legislation. This is not about political points, it is about trying to protect ordinary people going out to work and living their lives. It is a hole. I ask the Minister of State and his officials to look at it. I always thought a Bill like this should be named after Kimberly. Even at this stage, will the Minister please take it on board, if not for Kimberly, for the next Kimberly and everyone else?

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the contributions from across the House. Deputy Gould had some constructive suggestions. I will set out initially what we are doing in the Bill because a lot was stated around a lot of other reforms but it is important to set out the context again. We are reforming the penalty point system to target multiple offences in one act. It is a progressive reform.

It targets those reckless drivers who commit multiple offences in the one act. This is something that will make a difference to road safety. Bringing in mandatory drug testing will address a serious gap and issue we are seeing, particularly in light of the trend and the evidence we saw from the Road Safety Authority and An Garda Síochána last year, which showed very concerning and increasing levels of drug driving. We need to tackle that head-on. It is causing a serious number of deaths and injuries on our roads.

There is also the wider issue of speed limits. Many people discussed speed limits but it is important to say that the speed limit review was not introduced in any type of reactionary way by this Government. The Government set up an evidence-based review commission that considered international research and best practice. The review has been peer reviewed. Multiple road engineers and international experts were involved. The review is guiding the wider changes in speed limits we are seeing.

While we are changing the legal default speed limits in the legislation, once the legislative process is concluded, guidance will issue to produce a new speed limit framework to be used by all local authorities. We are trying to synchronise and co-ordinate the process across all local authorities to end the fragmented system of speed limit reviews we have seen historically under which one council may start in one year and another the next without any national synchronisation. Essentially, the default speed limits will underpin the new speed limit guidance but local authorities and councillors will have the ability to revise speed limits upwards, if it is safe to do so, or to bring them further downwards if that is the correct decision.

It is important to state that, of course, there will be exceptional circumstances. There are roads that are well engineered and that can have higher speed limits. However, we need to set a safer default baseline, which local authorities can then make correct and prudent decisions to alter. There is an example I reference all of the time. In their contributions, some Deputies referenced national primary roads. National primary roads will remain at 100 km/h and motorways will remain at 120 km/h but there are national secondary roads that are not at the engineering standard to allow for driving at 100 km/h. That is why the speed limit review proposed a limit of 80 km/h. Similarly, the limit on local rural roads is currently 80 km/h. There can be grass growing up the middle of the road, poor visibility and mainly ditches to the side of the roadway. We know from the data that it is on such roads that the predominance of accidents occur. These are unsafe roads with unsafe speed limits. This changes the default speed limit on those roads. In built-up or urban areas, the proposal is to mirror much of what has happened throughout Dublin where the limit has been set at 30 km/h. However, the limit on arterial roads in these areas will be set at 50 km/h. The guidance will set out further detail on how the speed limit review and framework will operate in the context of local authorities. This must be underpinned by a strong legislative context. That is why we are advancing this measure, which is very much evidence-based.

I will come back to some of the comments that were made. Some of the comments made by some members of the Rural Independent Group were very disingenuous and unfair to the Minister, Deputy Ryan. In fairness, the Minister has sought to prioritise the evidence across all matters involving road safety, as have I. We have a very effective working road safety transformation board. Personalising and politicising such a sensitive issue is unfair and it is beneath the political system. We should not play politics with such a sensitive matter in the context of the many people who have lost their lives and the devastation on our roads. We should all be mature enough to provide constructive suggestions in respect of the Bill rather than trying to polarise people and attack the Minister when he is supporting an evidence-based measure.

Deputy Mattie McGrath attacked the Bill and made reference to multiple NGOs. One in ten deaths on our roads last year occurred in the Deputy's county of Tipperary. He says he is full of sympathy and I am sure he is but I would ask him to be not only full of sympathy, but full of impetus for reform. We have to be very careful. If we want to be victim-centred in our approach to road safety and reform, I would ask all Deputies across the House to support the Bill. It is victim-centred and based on evidence in respect of road safety.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae spoke about educating youngsters. The most I have heard from him on road safety in my years in this House was a defence of drink driving. What message does that send to young people? I ask him and all of the Deputies who have sought to polarise the public and to undermine important road safety reforms to send the right message to people and to stop insulting victims and people in this House. They should extend their sympathy to standing up for reform that works and evidence we can all stand over.

I will speak to some of the other points raised. Some people made reference to driving tests. We are reviewing the driver testing curriculum. It has not been revised for 30 years and needs to more accurately reflect modern driving, particularly in light of upgraded technology and changes to the road network. We have sanctioned an additional allocation to the Road Safety Authority to commence that review of the curriculum.

Deputy Shanahan made reference to someone getting caught speeding in a 30 km/h zone. The obvious thing to do is not to speed at all. If pedestrians are hit by a vehicle travelling below 30 km/h, they will have a 90% chance of surviving. If hit at 60 km/h, or perhaps at the unfortunate speed the Deputy referenced, 90% will be killed. In that context, it is correct for Gatso vans to be placed in urban areas. Last year, 43 pedestrians were killed in villages, towns and cities. People need to be cognisant of that when criticising the deployment of speed vans. The deployment of speed vans is arranged between An Garda Síochána and GoSafe, as a company. It is not a revenue-generating exercise. There is an algorithm and data oversight system that allows vans to be deployed where increased speeding is detected. The vans are there to address the very worrying trends in breaches of speed limits on our roads that have been noticed.

There was reference to camera-based enforcement. There has been extensive work done in modelling the Scottish approach, which has demonstrated very progressive reforms in the context of a camera-based enforcement strategy. We are going to advance that this year and put a budget behind it as part of the forthcoming Estimates process later this year. We will have a camera-based enforcement strategy that makes better use of technology in enforcement.

On intoxicated driving, as Deputy Duncan Smith mentioned, members of An Garda Síochána must form the opinion that a driver is driving while intoxicated. The Deputy referenced concerns regarding prescribed medication. It is not a crime to drive while on prescription medication but obviously, if it results in a level of intoxication, it is an issue. It comes down to personal responsibility.

The issue of multiple learner permits was raised. We are working with the Road Safety Authority on addressing the issue of multiple learner permits. It is a reform we want to advance this year. Deputy Ward mentioned our engagement with victims' groups. I have met Leo Lieghio, Susan Gray from PARC and many other victims' groups, as have people in the Opposition. We are keen to work with victims' groups to ensure any legislation we advance is victim-centred.

I will address a point raised by multiple Deputies. I accept that enforcement needs to improve if the legislation we are advancing is going to work. If our existing legislation is going to have a greater effect, we need to see improvement in enforcement. That is something I raise regularly with the Commissioner, the assistant commissioner and An Garda Síochána. I do not dispute that it is a core issue in the context of road safety.

Points were raised on engineering. We need to see continued investment in our road network for local, regional and national roads but we also need to reform, to look at the evidence we have seen over the last 12 months as regards drug driving, which is something we are tackling, and to address the culture of recklessness.

That is why we are reforming the penalty points system and addressing the fragmentation and complete dysfunction of speed limits nationwide. This is a clear and important reform that we must advance in the context of this legislation. I appreciate all input by Members and look forward to progressing this Bill quickly through both Houses. I commend the Bill to the House.