Michael Kitt (Fianna Fail)

The campaign for it started 41 or 44 years ago. Developments such as the bypass help frustrated motorists who have waited in long queues to get through Loughrea. The frustration of motorists often contributes to accidents. Senator Ormonde mentioned speed cameras. We must get them into operation.

A great deal of hypocrisy surrounds driving and bad driving. Drivers openly admit they break and bend the law. In the next breath they state more gardaí are necessary to catch those who break the law. Such logic escapes me. Another example is of people who use mobile phones while driving. I saw figures from the UK which suggest that 77% of motorists use mobile phones while driving, but only 30% use hands-free kits.

Longer journey times and traffic jams lead to fatigue and frustration. I hope we can deal with those issues. Single vehicle accidents that occur early in the morning are extremely disturbing. It attests to loss of judgment. Drink driving is still a major cause of accidents. The headlines in some newspapers suggest that drugs have worsened the situation.

It seems anyone can teach anyone else to drive or to pass the test, which is more like what people want to do. Driving schools can operate without supervision. The Minister of State should also examine that issue to improve the situation. I agree with Mr. Tony Toner who stated in today's Irish Independent that "Education is the only way to teach these artful dodgers". He is correct. I cannot understand why more emphasis is not put on learning the basis rules of the road in secondary schools. Transition year would be an ideal time for this. Mr. Toner refers to Rosemary Smith, who established a think awareness programme nine years ago through which tremendous work was done. Education and enforcing rules and regulations are simple and easy ways to deal with it. I hope the new road authority and Mr. Noel Brett will work hard to ensure they can make progress.

I was sad to hear last year when the road safety strategy was announced that the intention was to reduce road deaths to not more than 300 per annum by the end of 2006. That figure is too high. One death from a road accident is too many. The strategy intends to reduce the number of deaths and we would like that achieved.

I am glad we are having this debate. A number of issues can be dealt with by the Minister of State and I am glad his efforts and those of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Cullen, have succeeded in making this a top priority. We must ensure this is prioritised within the Government. I hope education policy, particularly in second level schools, will lead to a reduction in road deaths.