Results 9,421-9,440 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: Let us suppose a person goes to court and gets six months. Otherwise, the person takes three months. A person is not going to appeal a charge that has already been accepted.

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 the Deputy asking whether it would stop a person from going to court rather than appealing?

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: A person is not appealing anything if he or she is going 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: No, it is simply in place as an option. It is quite simple.

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: No, it is a side benefit really. The purpose behind it is not to do with clogging up the courts. However, that is a benefit of 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, absolutely. It is a peripheral benefit.

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: That is not the case at all. The rationale behind the whole thing is to get people disqualified.

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 cannot remember offhand how many people were surveyed. I could probably find out for the committee within minutes. Certainly committee members can have a copy of 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: That was the Behaviour & Attitudes survey. The figure was 1,000. It was a big sample anyway.

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 lack of resources must be a factor. The pledge relating to 10% was to do it by the end of the year. The idea was to increase it by 10% by the end of this year. It evident, I suspect, from the fact that when the Garda steps up the campaign, it gets more convictions and arrests. The more resources that are applied, the more people are convicted. The Garda needs more and we would get...

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 am totally satisfied that the Minister for Justice and Equality is taking it as seriously as I am.

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 10% figure is as a result of a joint attack on road deaths. That is why the change is coming in.

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: No, it is not crumbs from the table.

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: No, it is not. We aim to get higher than that as well, and I think we probably will. It is not simply a matter of resources. If we had more resources, for example, checkpoints on every road every night, it would help a great deal. Is that not right? If a driver thought that the moment he walked out of the pub a checkpoint would be in place, it would make a difference. Obviously, we...

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 do not agree with Deputy Munster. I have personal experience of it. I have been breathalysed several times. I have been breathalysed since I became Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. I know a large number of others have been breathalysed too. Personal experience does not indicate to me that Deputy Munster's assertion holds.

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 did. I got the normal treatment, but I was clear.

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 do not agree with Deputy Munster. I think there is a growing perception that there is a danger. However, there certainly was a belief among people that there was a lesser chance. That is part of the equation. This is certainly an area where we have to do a certain amount of work to create that atmosphere. That is what we are at. I accept what Deputy Munster is saying. That was the...

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 talking about a different context.

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 understand fully what Deputy Munster is saying. I understand the doubts that Deputy Munster and others have about figures coming from the Garda. However, the figures in question are not coming from the Garda. What Deputy Munster is saying is, without dispute, right about people having concerns about any figures that come from the Garda at the moment. There is public unrest about it but...

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 have had several discussions with the Minister for Justice and Equality on all these matters.