David Norris (Independent)

I accept that and thank the Minister for that very helpful comment, but let us put pressure on them, even if through this debate. Then perhaps the Minister should take the responsibility by means of legislation. If we are to have a national system there will have to be national standards of coherency, otherwise it will be very difficult to have them respected.

The same applies to road humps, allegedly traffic calming measures. Let us have consistency. Are there any national standards for these things? Some are reasonable but they range from very gradual elliptical curves to simple walls of brick that would shatter the axle of any car, even if you hit one at only ten miles per hour. I would like to see some consistent, coherent national standards here, otherwise people will not continue to respect them.

When I am speaking about respect, I ask the Minister to look at the position regarding the policing of the three tonne limits. Commercial vehicles, lorries, double decker buses of various kinds routinely drive past notices specifying the three tonne limit. I have a personal gripe here because I live in a city centre address in North Great George's Street where we had at one point a plan to try to stop the rat run of stolen cars, commercial vehicles, buses and so on. That plan was subverted by a rather miserable campaign and the corporation merely put up a notice indicating a three tonne limit.

We have written repeatedly to CIE. Last week I stood on the street and personally stopped a bus which was just turning into the street. The driver said he could not reverse it, that he had to go up. I said to him that if he could not reverse, he should get out of the bloody bus and leave it where it was because it was dangerous. I refused to budge and he drove the bus at me. However, I am glad to say two young neighbours, a decent young lad and his girlfriend, said, "That fellow is quite right, we will stand with him," and we forced the bus to withdraw and to go around the proper way.

How can you have respect for the law when these notices are put up? We have written to CIE, the Garda and the traffic managers but in that instance I blame the city traffic authorities. They have taken a commercial street, O'Connell Street, and said they are anti-car. Mr. Keegan, with charming openness, accountability and transparency, came clean and said, "We don't like cars and if motorists have not woken up to that they are thick." That is the diplomacy we have come to expect from Dublin Corporation. Because it dislikes cars so much it dislodges them from a commercial street and sends the whole damn lot down the only residential street in the area. That is consistency and coherency of a high order, something the Minister ought to look at and also the lack of democracy.