James Bannon (Fine Gael)

The Minister has admitted that this is more than a pilot scheme; it will and should continue to operate. That is the view of the people we serve. I am disappointed the Minister of State is treating this as a pilot initiative. It is extremely successful. Senator Wilson is nodding his head in agreement. It has been successful throughout rural Ireland. Several programmes on national and local airwaves have covered the success of this initiative. Local authority members and Members of the Oireachtas are of the view that this initiative should be continued. We should ensure it is supported and continues to operate.

Currently 40% of people living in rural Ireland do not have access to even a basic bus or rail service; that is where this initiative comes into play. This is particularly the case in the BMW region. Some 20% of those rarely, or never, have access to a car to go shopping or attend health checks. Only 30% of people living in the country or in towns or villages with populations of under 1,500 have daily morning or evening commuter services. Most affected are the elderly, the ill or disabled, young people and those on low incomes.

Apart from the lack of transport services, there is a lack of critical infrastructure, spending on which in 2004 fell by 11.5% on 2003 figures. There is also the matter of the appalling condition of some of our roads. This will be brought to the notice of all public representatives when they visit rural parts of the Kildare and Meath constituencies during the next three weeks. It is also a safety issue. Visits from politicians representing urban areas to rural areas will exercise their minds in this regard.

The number of deaths caused countrywide through traffic accidents, according to the National Safety Council, is shamefully high. Road deaths in 2004 reached their highest level since 2001 despite efforts the Government was supposed to be making in deal with this issue. This indicates that we are back to the level of road fatalities we had prior to the introduction of the penalty points system. Deaths can and must be reduced. They have been reduced in every other country in Europe with the exception of Ireland. That shows that the Government is not taking the necessary action. Currently the death ratio in traffic accidents here is twice that of nearest neighbour, Britain.

Remedial action must not only involve investment in better training, testing and safety procedures; it will require the enforcement of existing law. However, we do not have a traffic police force such as that which exists in other developed countries. This is where we are falling down compared to our counterparts in Europe, America and other parts of the world. Road checks are not frequent enough and there is widespread flouting of the law. We do not have sufficient gardaí to deal with this problem. Where are the 2,000 extra gardaí that were promised in the run up to the last general election?