Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Bill. The Minister of State, whom I welcome to the House, has important responsibilities. Two of the major issues to arise during the previous general election were road safety, notably the number of fatalities, and the cost of insurance, both of which fall to some degree under the Minister of State's remit.

The main reason for the Bill is to adjust the speed limits and change them to the metric system. While I accept that practice regarding road signs indicating distance is inconsistent, with many of them, particularly on minor roads, still in miles, there is an illogicality about having speed limits indicated in miles and distances indicated in kilometres. We are switching over from a system common to these islands to a system operated on the Continent, which I welcome. It is in some ways similar to the changeover to the euro in 2002. I disagree with my colleague, Senator Wilson, in that I believe January to be a good month for changeovers of this kind. In any case, these measures must be planned well in advance and my advice to the Minister is to get on with it.

Senator Henry and others are in the same position as me in that we have older cars. I am a little concerned that older cars clearly indicate speeds in miles per hour, whereas kilometres, if indicated at all, are so faint one would almost cause an accident trying to identify them. One possible angle is for the Society of the Irish Motor Industry to establish some kind of programme to replace dials on older cars. I am not aware that this issue has been covered in discussions and perhaps it should be considered. The general speed limit of 50 km/h is marginally greater than 30 mph. Those of us who sometimes feel constrained by the 30 mph limit will now get an extra one or two miles per hour. The general speed limit on regional and local roads is utterly absurd, and should be 60 mph. Far better roads often have a lower speed limit.

I generally favour local authorities having responsibility for speed limits. However, it must be with the consent of the National Roads Authority. Recently there was vast investment in the Glen of the Downs bypass in County Wicklow. This replaced a very indifferent road which had a speed limit of 60 mph. However, the brand new dual carriageway has a reduced speed limit of 40 mph. What was the point of spending all that money on road improvement when the speed limit was cut by a third?

There is now a facility for dual carriageways which are almost de facto motorways, such as the Watergrasshill bypass, close to Fermoy. There is no good reason that should not have an upper end speed limit. Why must the limit be constrained to 60 mph or 100 km/h? In this regard, we differ from the North, where the general speed limits on dual carriageways is 70 mph. I am glad there will more flexibility in this matter.

We have adopted an increased speed limit of 120 km/h for motorways. If we vastly improve roads situated away from cities, we should benefit in terms of lower journey times and higher speeds when it is safe to do so. In most of continental Europe, the speed limit on motorways is 130 km/h. In large parts of Germany, where they drive Mercedes and BMWs, the speed limit is 140 km/h, and sometimes unlimited. I am not proposing we should do the same. However, after applying the limit of 120 km/h for a period of time, we should consider increasing it to 130 km/h on motorways close to the Border, or the Monasterevin bypass, or other roads situated far from conurbations.

On the issue of insurance and road safety, I share some of the doubts expressed by Senator McDowell as to whether to give an enabling power via regulation for the Minister to put caps on liabilities. Should the situation the Minister envisages arise, there should be separate legislation at that time. In an emergency, this provision may allow the Minister some temporary power. However, if a major change of that kind is made, it should be subject to separate legislation put forward at the time before the Oireachtas.

There are four or five issues with regard to road safety. The danger of unsafe cars is now being addressed with road testing. Road improvements and the presence of warning signs will deal with the problem of unsafe roads. Other issues include drink, drugs and sleepiness or tiredness, which is rather underestimated.

The topic of ministerial cars was raised. Compared to 1981, almost 24 years ago, the number of car accidents these days is far above the average and too high. It is a source of resentment for the general public when officeholders are not subject to the same rules as everybody else. A defence in a case some years ago was that the person had to get to an important function. To the objective observer, some distance from this place, it did not seem as important as that. However, public safety is important. I have been in cars on official delegations abroad and the drivers can be macho in their attitudes which can lead to accidents. As a passenger I was involved in an accident in New York where another passenger was injured for a series of months. Perhaps we should try to do less. It is better to be late temporarily than in the permanent sense.

The issue of cyclists and motorcyclists being subject to laws has been neglected. It is a source of intense irritation when they break red lights. There is a high level of accidents involving such vehicles. More attention regarding road safety should be paid to the matter.

I have not studied the Bill sufficiently, but it will hopefully make road safety regulations more watertight, so that district judges do not have the pleasure of throwing out prosecutions on a whim. If members of our Judiciary, in particular at lower levels, showed a bit more commitment to road safety rather than taking pleasure in throwing out as many cases as they can, it would be better for all concerned.

Senator Minihan suggested formalising extra speed limits, in that if one is only 5 mph or 8 km/h above the speed limit, it should be disregarded in terms of penalty points. Such limits cannot be formalised. They must be left to the discretion of the gardaí. If they are formalised them, then de facto the speed limit is raised and everybody will drive at the increased speed.