Results 5,121-5,140 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: The Deputy knows my general position on the matter. I do not disagree with her. The Deputy knows I have asked the road safety authority to consider this area. I reiterate that the courts have the power to require a person disqualified under a consequential order to obtain a certificate of competency by successfully undergoing the driving test as a prerequisite to having the driving licence...

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: The Deputy is right that I am waiting for confirmation from the Road Safety Authority on the matter, which has been raised by a number of bodies. It is interesting technology. If a person needed to blow into an alcolock and if he or she were over the limit it would end many problems. There are difficulties with some of these systems regarding who maintains and monitors them. That issue...

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: Amendment No. 27 proposes that section 106 of the principal Act be amended so that where a member of the Garda Síochána is present at the scene of a collision where death or serious injury has occurred, he or she shall require the driver to provide a breath sample to establish the presence of alcohol. The driver may accompany a garda or another member of the Garda Síochána to a place,...

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: I did not mean it that way. It would be challenged in court and we would lose.

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: I do not have any evidence, overwhelming or otherwise, to suggest that people involved in serious accidents who are out of their minds with drink are not being tested for alcohol or drugs consumption. The Road Traffic Acts provide that a member of the Garda Síochána may require a person in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle to provide a preliminary breath specimen where the vehicle...

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: I move amendment No. 35: In page 9, line 42, to delete "section 138(3)(a)" and substitute "section 138(3)". This is a drafting amendment recommended by the parliamentary counsel. It corrects the existing text.

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: The advent of the new administrative disqualification and fixed charge system for certain drink driving offences placed the spotlight on the range of mandatory disqualifications currently applied under the Road Traffic Acts. The immediate consequence of a decision to apply an administrative disqualification of six months to a specific group of drink driving offences means that the periods for...

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: There is not a great deal between us. The current period is two years and I am increasing it to four years. The Deputy is proposing that it be five years. I prefer to leave the Bill as it is.

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: I move amendment No. 39: In page 11, line 39, to delete "said".

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: The Oireachtas has only recently reduced the overall speed limits and the default limit. I have given strong powers to local authorities to look at this. I do not agree, however, that it is impractical for local authorities to look at signs on these roads. A person going out over a few weeks would resolve the ludicrous situation of roads which are clearly unfit for 100 km/h speed limits. It...

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: The Deputy is using up everybody's time.

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: I wish to reply to Deputy Shortall's question by giving her some up-to-date and, hopefully, relevant information. As she knows, the 1996 traffic signs manual deals with this issue. I will try to foreshorten my reply because there is not a lot of time available. I examined the issue regarding local authorities, which seems to be central to what Deputy Shortall is saying. The overall manual is...

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: The Deputy should stop grandstanding.

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: All of us in this House are equally concerned with those matters.

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: The Deputy should not grandstand in here.

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: The Deputy should not do that.

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: This issue was raised earlier. I understand where the Deputy is coming from and as a result of this debate I will feed this idea back into what is going on with regard to the permit issue. We must be clear on two fronts, however. First, we are not suggesting that any category of people can go on to our roads without meeting any standards whatsoever, including medical standards. That would not...

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: I thank Deputies for their support and co-operation and the discussion that took place on the Bill. I appreciate the effort by all parties to have the Bill passed. I also thank my officials.

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: I agree with the Deputy. There has to be transparency. It would be helpful if people in any area could expect a defined number of checkpoints and they should be informed at the end of every quarter or period of time that these checkpoints have been set up. I would be interested in the statistics of the number of people caught randomly as opposed to the previous way. The Road Safety Authority...

Road Traffic Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (5 Jul 2006)

Martin Cullen: The purpose of this amendment is to reduce the legal thresholds of the amount of alcohol a person driving a mechanically propelled vehicle may consume before he or she is committing an offence. It would introduce a reduced blood alcohol level for drivers on provisional licences. For the sake of clarification I point out there is an offence relating to drink driving that does not refer to any...