Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

Nobody here would dispute the success of the penalty points system. It has been a great success and responsible for saving lives but in the light of the comments made at the annual conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors yesterday in Galway about the inability to implement any further extension of the penalty points system, it is time the Minister for Transport came into the House to debate the issue and explain how he expects the Garda to implement a service without the necessary computer systems. We also need the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to explain how he can expect so many resources to be applied to implementing the system when Garda resources are completely stretched, an issue we discussed yesterday and on many other days. There is a huge need for gardaí on the streets but instead they are tied up and will be further tied up trying to implement this system without the necessary computer systems. I would like to see both Ministers come into the House to explain to us how the system will be implemented.