Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

I move:

That Seanad Éireann, noting:

—that 354 persons have been killed on our roads in the first ten months of 2005;

—the number of persons killed or seriously injured on our roads in the first ten months of 2005, is now higher than for the same period in 2004;

—that the number of fatalities last month was almost double that for October 2004;

—that the Government is failing to achieve its target of reducing road deaths by25%; and

—that the Government's failure to put in place the enforcement and legislative measures necessary to reduce road deaths and fatalities is aggravating the level of carnage on our roads;

calls on the Government to:

—implement in full the commitments contained in the National Road Safety Strategy 2004-2006; including the complete roll-out of the penalty points system from the existing four to the proposed 69 offences;

—the achievement of the full complement of the Garda traffic corps as an urgent priority;

—the establishment of a road safety authority with a dedicated, rolling budget;

—the introduction of random breath testing;

—the roll-out of speed cameras nationwide; and

—the compulsory training for motorcyclists.

I welcome the Minister of State and his officials to the House. I am deputising for Senator Paddy Burke, who is standing in for the Cathaoirleach today and who, unfortunately, cannot move the motion.

I welcome the opportunity to debate this important motion. Every year Fine Gael Members use Private Members' time to highlight the unacceptable upward trend in road fatalities and the corresponding failure of the Government to do anything about it. This year has been particularly bad with 20 more people killed than this time last year. That equates to one third of the membership of the Seanad.

It is easy to consider figures coldly but when they translate into family members and so on, one realises the devastation caused. This figure contains a high number of young drivers while the number of serious injuries has increased significantly. Naturally, less emphasis is paid to the injuries caused by road accidents but such injuries are usually accompanied by devastating life changing circumstances for the individuals involved and their families. Sadly, the number runs into thousands each year.

The motion refers to the death toll for October, the latest month for which figures are available, although the death toll for November will be even worse. This is totally unacceptable and cannot continue. In October 2004, 22 people were killed on our roads while in October 2005 a total of 42 people lost their lives. It is difficult to believe the figure has almost doubled. Many of the victims were young people who had their entire lives ahead of them. Why is Ireland the only country in the European Union in which the trend in road deaths is upwards? This raises serious questions.

As this unacceptable increase in road deaths continues, everybody, except the Government, is conscious that these deaths could be avoided and accidents could be prevented. This must be particularly hard for the families of the deceased and the injured to deal with and they deserve better. Unfortunately, we can predict that each weekend our nightly news bulletins will be characterised by grisly images of broken cars and heartbroken families. This must stop.

As the motion highlights, all we have had from the Government is promises and more promises. None of these empty promises has been delivered. The Ministers for Transport and Justice, Equality and Law Reform never move beyond such promises. Where is the 1,200 member Garda traffic corps, which was promised as a priority in 2002? An extra 34 gardaí have been deployed so far but the corps is not dedicated to traffic duty alone. The gardaí involved can be called away from their road side duties at any time. How can this corps effectively police our roads if it is absent for critical periods?

Where are the speed cameras, which were first promised as a priority in 1998, when we were informed such cameras would be rolled out throughout the country? Seven years later, only three speed cameras operate at any time in counties Meath, Dublin and Louth. The Government may well tell us cameras are on the way but, having waited for seven years, I cannot be blamed for being sceptical that they will ever arrive.

Motorcyclists were promised compulsory basic training in 1998 but nothing has happened in this regard. This is a glaring issue, which must be addressed urgently. Motorcyclists comprise fewer than 2% of the motoring public but they account for almost 16% of road fatalities annually. A swift roll-out of all 69 penalty point offences was also promised but, thus far, only four offences are provided for under the system and there is no sign of other offences being added.

In the latest fiasco involving the Government, the long-promised introduction of random breath testing is floundering. The Minister of Transport stated it may not be possible to introduce such testing due to legal difficulties but Fine Gael does not accept this view. Random breath testing is a feature of road safety in many states. For example, in the Australian state of Victoria, its introduction contributed to a 50% reduction in road deaths. The template is in place and random breath testing can save lives. We cannot turn our back on it merely because of legal difficulties. If we are serious about reducing carnage, such difficulties must be overcome.

With regard to the issues of the traffic corps, speed cameras, penalty points, motorcycle training and random breath testing, the Government made lofty promises but did not act. The Government lacks the will to do anything, despite the urgency of the situation. We need leadership from our Government to tackle road deaths but, instead, we have experienced paralysis while the number of road fatalities has increased.

My party leader, Deputy Kenny, recently called on the Taoiseach to take personal responsibility for ensuring these crucial road safety measures are implemented. Nothing less is good enough. In France, President Chirac took responsibility for this issue and fought to ensure what needed to be done was done. The result was a dramatic reduction in road deaths. We need the same high level involvement in Ireland or else nothing will change. The public has lost confidence in the ability of the responsible Ministers to do anything.

The Government has an appalling road safety record, although it will seek to defend it later. However, I ask Government Members to consider the appalling record of road deaths. The upward trend in recent years speaks for itself and the current road safety regime is failing. They should also consider that the failure of the Government's response is nowhere better typified than by the decision of the chairman of the National Safety Council to resign last week. Mr. Eddie Shaw has long been a committed supporter of reform of our road safety regime. He has campaigned passionately for many years for reform and new initiatives to reduce road deaths. His resignation is the culmination of years of frustration due to his pleas for action repeatedly falling on the deaf ears of the Government. Who could blame him for his decision to walk away? I urge the Government to take its head out of the sand and give this issue the priority it deserves. If the Government continues to ignore road safety, countless more preventable deaths and injuries will occur on our roads every day.