Results 3,621-3,640 of 10,460 for speaker:Gerry Horkan

Seanad: Electoral Reform Bill 2022: Committee Stage (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: As there are no further contributors, I will press the amendment.

Seanad: Electoral Reform Bill 2022: Committee Stage (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: Amendments Nos. 2 to 6, inclusive, 8 and 9 are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: I thank all our guests. While I was not present earlier, I have read all of their opening statements. I thank them all for being here so late on a Thursday evening. I attended a nice event this morning to celebrate 100 years of the Garda. It was hosted in, of all places, the famous Stepaside Garda station and the former Minister for Transport even turned up.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: Some people were claiming full credit for it, regardless of whether they were involved or not. I thank all of our guests for attending. I appreciate the work they are doing. While there is science behind it, we all know the problems. If I am right, and I picked it up from all of them, those problems stem from alcohol, drugs, speeding, tiredness, losing attention and forgetting that one...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: Those are big numbers. It is a busy road.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: Has there been a drop in incidents, fatal or otherwise? Generally, motorways are probably the safest roads we have per percentage of the volume travelled and the volume of people on the road, etc. However, has the Garda seen a reduction in the number of incidents since the cameras on particular stretch went live?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: Compliance has gone up, but I wonder has the number of incidents decreased.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: All kinds of things turned up during Covid. The Garda discovered all kinds of nefarious activity that it would not normally find because the volume of traffic was low. Has the Garda seen a difference in behaviour coming out of Covid and behaviour pre Covid?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: I do not want to target anywhere but is drink-driving and drug-driving more prevalent in urban or rural areas? Does it occur on small country lanes where people think they will not get caught or in urban areas where the volume of traffic is higher? Where does it tend to occur?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: Is that 1,000 incidents or what percentages are-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: Yes, but obviously Dublin has 1,000 incidents based on a population of 1 million versus Leitrim, which has 100 based on a population of 40,000. Percentage-wise, are there black spots? Are there places where people are less likely to get caught? In rural areas there is little by way of alternative public transport options. In urban areas, people can avail of taxis, the Luas, bus services,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: Do the statistics drive the detection strategy? Does the Garda locate more checkpoints in areas that have more activity in order to improve compliance?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: By way of conveying a message from the witnesses to the committee and to the wider public, what else do they want us all to do? I am amazed that people do not wear a seat belt. At this stage it is quite annoying when you sit in your car without putting on a seat belt because in almost all cars now, it starts to make a pinging noise. I do not know anybody who does not wear a seat belt....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: Is that just drivers? I ask because the fatalities could be back-seat passengers or whatever.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: Everybody should wear a seat belt and every car is equipped with seat belts for every seat. I certainly never sit in a car even as a passenger without wearing a seat belt, even if I am seated in the back. Does the Garda Síochána still encounter drivers who are not wearing a seat belt and are involved in collisions?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: Geographically, where is the worst area? Does not wearing a seat belt occur across the country? I am not trying to pinpoint anywhere. I simply want to identify where there is a behavioural pattern that is worse than other areas so that the message can be conveyed that people must wear their seat belts in that part of the country, and people have died due to not wearing a seat belt.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: Every single death is a tragedy for the person's family, friends and all of the people connected to him or her There were nine fatalities in Dublin, which has a population of 1 million, and I presume that the figure of five fatalities in Wexford is based on a much smaller population. What metric is used to analyse the statistics? What counties are the worst when certain metrics are used?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: Has the reason Longford is worse than anywhere else been investigated? I think that the entire committee would like to convey the message to the people of Longford that its statistics are worse than everywhere else so please take extra care.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: I will come back in later if there is time. As a former chair of a transport strategic policy committee, SPC, for an urban local authority that analysed the statistics on road deaths, I reiterate that one death is one too many. There was an AXA roadshow for transition year students and they could discuss road safety with doctors and paramedics.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety Strategy 2021-30: Discussion (30 Jun 2022)

Gerry Horkan: I probably will try to get back in if there is time. I thank the witnesses for everything they are doing. If there is anything our committee can do to help them, please let us know.