Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I commend the Garda Commissioner, Noel Conroy, and the force on their vigilance and on their proposal for a clampdown on road traffic offences this weekend to address the significant loss of life on our roads. I call on the Leader to schedule a further debate on road safety and on what other steps can be taken in this regard. I hope this will be a golden weekend in Ireland with no fatalities. Last weekend, six people died while last year one motorcyclist was killed every week. It is a terrible statistic, which has resulted in much hardship for families.

Reference was made at a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business to the number of single drivers involved in crashes in the early hours of the morning. The circumstances surrounding those tragic accidents should be seriously investigated. We should all assist and support the Garda. The upcoming campaign should be conducted 365 days a year and not only over 48 hours this weekend. I commend the Garda and the House should give the force its full support to keep up the good work to ensure there will be no fatalities on our roads this weekend.