Results 9,401-9,420 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: Okay. I will read them all to the Deputy. There are not that many. The first question asked of the respondents was to what extent they support or object to any driver caught over the drink-driving limit being automatically disqualified from driving. It was a very simple question. A total of 79% of people said that they supported it strongly, 12% said that they supported it somewhat and 4%...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: Does the Deputy want to hear the rest?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: Whatever the legal one is.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: But we are not changing the 50 mg limit.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: We are not changing the 50 mg limit. We are keeping the level at 50 mg.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: Yes, but we are not changing the level. There seems to be a misunderstanding here. All we are doing is swapping three penalty points for three months' suspension.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: We are not changing the level at all.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: We are not changing the level. Deputy O'Keeffe talks about the following morning. People are still impaired the following morning. Of alcohol-related fatal crashes, 14% happen between 6 a.m. and 12 noon. People may not feel they are impaired and may be in a somewhat different mental condition but they are still impaired. One cannot say it is all right to drive the following morning...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: Okay. The Deputy was talking about the Garda presence. He is right about enforcement. It is really important. If the law is not enforced or seen to be enforced, people will take risks with drinking and driving. That is part of the equation and must be addressed. The Deputy is probably aware that after testing carried out by the Garda over the Christmas period showed the level of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: I think the figures are pretty clear. I can give Deputy McConalogue some tables to support them. The figure of 3,003 fixed penalty notices is based on drivers who have been tested by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety, so that figure is incontestable. In terms of drivers who have taken three penalty points plus the €200 fine, the figures show there were 531, 563, 501 and 613 such...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: There is no doubt that the figures I have given the Deputy, certainly in 2016, have risen in every case. The key figure is the number in this category who have died, which from memory is 35 over four years. It averages about seven per annum in this category. We believe closing this loophole will reduce the number of deaths. I wish to make another key point. The figures and the deaths...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: What is the Deputy's question?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: There were 19 in the 21-50 mg range and 16 in the 51-80 mg range. The message we are trying to send out is that everybody detected will be disqualified. I am not making a distinction. The whole point is to make no distinction. There is a distinction in quality and degree, but I am trying to abolish the distinction to make it acceptable. I am trying to tell people they should not do it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: The person has an option. He or she can either take the fixed three months or go to court.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: The person will have an option to go to court or take the automatic penalty of three months.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: Once they have gone to court?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: I presume he or she can appeal in the normal way.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: If a person takes the fixed penalty notice, that person gets a lesser charge. Is that not right? In that case, the person gets the six months. If it goes to court, the person gets six months. Does that answer Deputy Munster's question?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Shane Ross: Is that on the basis that the person has accepted the three-month ban?