Cyprian Brady (Fianna Fail)

I congratulate the Minister for Transport. This has been a very interesting debate on a particularly important subject. Since I came into this House there have been a number of calls for a debate on this matter. Despite the recent upsurge in road deaths, I congratulate the Minister and his Department on the marked improvement in road safety in general throughout the country. They have managed to change a culture. Since the introduction of the first national road safety strategy in 1997-98, there has been a change. Death and carnage on the roads was costing the country a significant amount of money and, more important, was taking a toll on families and individuals. Injuries and deaths were a common occurrence. Every morning there was news of at least two or three accidents and something needed to be done. The initiative was taken by the previous Administration in putting together the road safety strategy in 1997-98. The downward trend in the numbers of deaths and injuries over the past number of years is proof that a co-ordinated, strategic and properly funded approach to the education of road users, the design of roads and traffic-calming measures, strong enforcement of legislation and ongoing monitoring and research can make travel of all kinds safe for all road users. We are all road users, whether we have a car or not. We use the footpaths and roadways. It is in everybody's interest that measures are taken to prevent accidents.

This Government and the previous one led the way in the introduction of a dedicated Department of Transport. It was also the first to set up a committee on social inclusion.

Senator Quinn also mentioned the introduction of the smoking ban and the plastic bag levy. The Government has targeted areas which most affect people.

Getting public attention and raising awareness are essential in changing attitudes. As we have seen in the campaigns on drink driving, seat belt use and other issues, a well thought out advertising and education campaign, supported by good legislation and strong enforcement, alters the population's attitude and outlook.

Ultimately, as in many other areas of life, particularly as regards alcohol consumption and drug use, the questions of the speed at which one drives, whether one drinks and drives, the route one takes and one's destination, are a matter of choice and people must take personal responsibility for their actions. This message has got through over the years. An illustration of this cultural change has been the use of seat belts. For many years, taxi drivers, bus drivers and others in similar occupations, would not consider using a seat belt. The introduction of rules making it mandatory to wear a seat belt has worked, despite widespread objections by those who argued it could not work and would require too much monitoring.

Despite recent figures, the clear trend on our roads is one of a steady decline in the numbers of collisions and injuries. According to independent opinion, fatalities and serious injuries fell significantly in 1998, 1999 and 2002 following the introduction of new road traffic measures. The level of fatalities in 2003 was the lowest since 1964. These decreases coincided with a quadrupling of the number of drivers and vehicles.

When the economy started to recover, we had a noticeable upsurge in the number of people driving cars. In the past, on visits to areas such as Cabra and Glasnevin in my constituency, I used to see one car parked outside each house. Nowadays, I often see two, three or four cars parked in driveways. Given such an upsurge in road use, it is only logical that the number of accidents will increase. Recent measures take this trend into account and the strategy planned for 2004 to 2006 goes further in underpinning them.

We must maintain the progress made thus far. I congratulate the Government on the investment made in improving the roads system. This year, an additional €34 million is being invested in our non-national roads. When driving around the country, as most of us do in the course of our work, one cannot escape the noticeable improvement in the road network. Clearly, much work remains to be done on secondary, country roads but significant strides have been made. The Department of Transport, in conjunction with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and local authorities, has made significant progress and should be congratulated.

The Department's research has shown that traffic calming and other engineering solutions to address known black spots on roads contributes to making them safer. As the Minister pointed out, specific improvements have been made at more than 400 locations on national roads. As a result, the number of accident black spot signs is decreasing.

The strategy for the next three years will tackle areas, such as speeding and the use of seat belts, that are influenced by personal choice and responsibility. It will be successful if effective advertising and education programmes are introduced. During a previous debate, I called on the Department to consider liaising with the Department of Education and Science to provide lessons on road use for schoolchildren as part of the curriculum. In the United States, many young teenagers in college are given lessons on the rules of the road, road use and showing consideration for other drivers. Years ago, local primary school classes were brought out to a traffic school in Clontarf, which I believe is still in operation, which had a miniature road system and given an introduction to the rules of the road from the point of view of drivers and pedestrians. This was an excellent exercise and I urge the Minister to consider ways to use such programmes in future.

Ireland's record on road safety is above the European Union average. The Minister has undertaken to introduce further measures in the next phase of the strategy with the aim of bringing us close to matching the results of the best performing countries.

I welcome the fact that random preliminary breath testing for drink driving is being considered. On a previous occasion, I raised the issue of statistics on driving under the influence of drugs with the Minister. While one of the medical bureaux is undertaking a study, we do not have any hard and fast statistics on the number of accidents in which drugs are a factor. Given the upsurge in the use of drugs such as cocaine, amphetamines and methamphetamines, it is essential that research is undertaken in this area. I urge the Department to take steps to limit the incidence of offences in this category and to educate people, particularly young people, on the dangers of taking drugs or alcohol before taking charge of a car.

Speed limits and cameras have proven successful in other jurisdictions. Resourcing of the Garda Síochána and licensing and testing are being considered in the forthcoming strategy. The penalty points system is at a very early stage and will require several more years to settle. Enforcement is an issue, but as with all other laws, it will take time, perhaps years, to have effect. We all want drivers to stay within the speed limits and abide by the rules of the road but a cultural change is required. The Minister is, to use a pun, on the right road and I wish him every success.