Feargal Quinn (Independent)

Last weekend seven young men died on our roads. I read yesterday that the chairman of the National Safety Authority questioned the Minister responsible on the unavailability of a central budget for road safety. This is a most serious matter. The young men who died were aged between 18 and 30 years. This matter should be on the agenda every week until something happens. According to the National Safety Council, action has been taken in other countries which has dramatically reduced the incidence of the kind of deaths to which I refer. There is criticism of the Government to the effect that it has not placed the issue high enough on its agenda. The Minister should come to the House and explain what is happening. We know we are not doing enough; we must do more. We cannot allow this situation to continue.

I also wish to refer to the death of a young sportsman last weekend, John McCall. Like other young people he gave wonderful commitment to his village, club and community. Last week Cormac McAnallen's mother called for a full investigation by medical authorities into sudden deaths of young fit males. Brian O'Gorman from Limerick died last year in a similar situation. We cannot sit back and merely say this is a shame.

Last year the manager of one of the Limerick Gaelic teams said he did not wish to have dual players. I did not understand that point but I now realise that perhaps there is a reason for it. A great deal of pressure is put on fit energetic young people who are committed to their clubs, teams and villages. There is an onus of responsibility on us to do something about this.