James Bannon (Fine Gael)

This plan was first proposed six years ago, yet six years later the Taoiseach is still singing the same old tune. Despite assurances from a succession of Ministers since then, nothing has happened. Doubts have now been expressed as to whether it will be possible to introduce random breath testing at all, despite the fact that figures from Australia and France prove that it significantly reduces fatalities. All I know for certain is that this lame-duck Government has failed to achieve its target of reducing road deaths by25%. A total of 323 people were killed on our roads in the first ten months of this year and those seriously injured or killed in this period is higher than for the same period in 2004. A further 40 people were killed on our roads in the past month. A mere 20% of the national road safety target is being reached.

Speed limits are breached with impunity on our dual carriageways and motorways. The lack of police presence, which is compounded by the Government's failure to deliver the full complement of the Garda traffic corps, gives a strong message to drivers that they can break the law and get away with it. After nine years in office, this limping Government has failed to implement the six year old road safety strategy. This, as we know, was strongly criticised by the ex-chairman of the National Safety Council, whose resignation was the impetus for the tabling of this motion.

I have raised the issue of road safety on many occasions in the House and called on the Minister for Transport to urgently debate plans to improve road safety. Dangerous roads, particularly in the midlands, such as the N55 between Athlone and Cavan, the N53 between Kinnegad and Tyrrellspass, and the appallingly bad stretch between Edgeworthstown and Armagh town, pose a serious threat to the safety of the public.

In my parish a young man was killed last July on the worst stretch of county road in the midlands, the Rathowen to Legan road at Ballygarvey. A significant percentage of such deaths on country roads are due to their neglected condition. They were described as the "roads to hell" following a survey conducted earlier this year by the Automobile Association. The roads to which I referred were highlighted, in addition to a significant number of other dangerous roads throughout the country which are a major threat to our safety. The survey described the road between Edgeworthstown and Armagh, the N56, N54 and A3, as the worst continuous stretch of road, varying between medium to high risk and very high risk. There was a major underspend on roads last year of €640 million, with many of the roads in need of remedial action being in the BMW region.