Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I thank Senator Norris for sharing his time with me. I add my words of praise for the work of Eddie Shaw, the former chairman of the National Safety Council. He resigned last week because of what I believe was his utter frustration at his inability to persuade the Government to do what he believed had to be done.

I had the experience some years ago of meeting a man on the floor of my supermarket who made a criticism. When I questioned his criticism, he said he recognises these things. The words he used were "I am a quality inspector in the construction industry." I asked him was this the reason he noticed standards were slipping, to which he replied "Yes". I asked him what was the most important element in ensuring that standards are reached. He said it is "if the boss thinks it is important".

Senator Dooley referred to the position in Victoria, Australia. I came back from Australia last week and I often travel to France. There has been a dramatic drop in the number of road deaths in Victoria and France and the reason for the improvement is that the boss thought the issue was important. The President of France gave it priority and said he would put this issue at the top of his list. He said he would ensure the number of road deaths was reduced and that has happened.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Power. We know what we have to do to address this issue. We do not need to debate it further. If motorists know they will be caught, they will behave on the road. Senator Brian Hayes referred to a point with which I would like us to get to grips. I often travel North and I refer to the behaviour of motorists on either side of the Border. The drivers of southern cars north of the Border and the northern cars travelling to County Louth know they will not be caught for bad road behaviour or, if they are, that the penalty points system would not apply to them. It would be simple to address this matter. We know we can do that and we need to do so.

When the penalty points system was introduced the number of road deaths dropped dramatically from 40 per month to 20 per month. That improvement in the position lasted only four months but for that period our record was the best in Europe. Then motorists began to realise that they would not be caught for breaches in that respect. As a nation, we took our eye off the ball and our leaders, irrespective of which party or parties were in Government, did not make this issue a priority. If motorists know they will be caught for such breaches, they will behave. Whether the breach is in respect of alcohol consumption or driving at speed, we have the technology to do something about this.

In addressing the issue of driving at speed, I am a great believer in using technology and in erecting speed cameras throughout the country.