James Bannon (Fine Gael)

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform stated in May this year that 211,982 speeding offences were detected in 2004. This means that a mere 20% of the target set in the national road safety strategy is being reached. Should we not feel helpless and despairing when we read that gardaí in rural areas arrest only one driver each per annum on suspicion of drink driving? The figures also indicate that only one person is arrested for drink driving for each of the 12,000 pubs in the country annually and even more strangely, only one quarter of that number is convicted.

There is a direct correlation between initiatives to increase safety on our roads and a decrease in road fatalities. If the Government does not channel resources into improving standards, the cycle of low standards leading to high road death figures will continue. The Government is sending out the message that anything goes. Over 30% of drivers on our roads break speed limits and drink driving is commonplace. Despite continual assurances to the contrary, there are significant delays in attaching penalty points to driving licences. The positive impact of penalty points, which did have a dramatic effect in reducing road deaths, has not followed through. Senator Dooley referred to this matter. The results were great in the first four months after penalty points were introduced but this has not been sustained. To date, only four out of 69 offences for which penalty points are applied have come into operation. Will the Minister of State indicate when the computerised system will be activated and outline the reasons for the delay? Some 18,000 drivers who hold licences that are not Irish are able to treat the current system with disdain and get away scot free in terms of the attachment of penalty points. This issue must be urgently addressed. Several Members have referred to this matter.

Nothing has improved or changed since the introduction of the penalty points system and until it is fully functioning Garda time will continue to be wasted and drivers will literally get away with murder as road deaths continue to rise. The number of deaths caused countrywide through traffic accidents is "shamefully high" according to the National Safety Council. In 2004, road deaths reached their highest level since 2001, indicating that we are back to the pre-penalty points level of fatalities.

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, announced the creation of a traffic corps in late November 2004, two years after it was promised as a priority measure in the programme for Government. To date, this has entailed little more than a merging of all existing traffic units. Current staffing of the traffic corps is 530 gardaí. This figure will only rise by 33 in 2005.

Like a seasonal itch, the Taoiseach has once again raised the possibility of random breath testing as a measure to reduce road deaths. The Minister of State will forgive me for not holding my breath on this Government promise.