Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State and the officials. So far this year, 360 people have lost their lives on the roads of the Twenty-six Counties. While the number is dramatically down on the 472 people killed in 1997, it is 360 people too many. It is the Government's intention to reduce the number of deaths from 472 in 1997 to an average of 300 by 2010. However, that is still too high a figure.

In October 2002 the penalty points system was introduced by the then Minister, Deputy Brennan. I very much welcomed its introduction at the time and, initially, it was a very successful campaign. However, I now admit it is not working the way in which it was intended and for a number of reasons, mainly because the gardaí are not on the right roads. I am not talking about the highways but about the byways on which many of these accidents occur. It is not working because people detected speeding must sometimes wait up to three months to get a letter in the post stating they have been caught speeding. It is also not working because there are technical hiccups. For instance, letters are not registered, an issue I raised before. It is a loophole which people can get around and it should be closed.

Unlike some previous speakers, I do not believe the penalty points system should be expanded to 69 offences. It should be confined to five or six, including speeding, not wearing a seat belt and, in particular, driving without insurance. Not only should somebody receive the maximum number of penalty points, which is 12, if they are caught driving without insurance but he or she should be disqualified from driving for five years.

I agree with what Senator Kate Walsh said in regard to headlights. It should be compulsory for headlights to be on at all times. I commend Senator Brian Hayes, who is a member of the British-Irish Interparliamentary Body along with myself and the Acting Chairman, Senator Dardis, and Lord Dubs on the work their committee is doing in regard to trying to harmonise the penalty points system between North and South. It is a joke in my part of the country where the natives attempt to obey the speed limits yet they are overtaken by cars with Northern registrations doing twice the speed limit, the drivers of which know nothing can be done about them. I welcome the initiative being undertaken and I commend the amendment.