Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

If one gets a statement from the motor tax unit that one's tax is due, it would be logical to accompany it with an outline of the 31 penalty point offences. This week I received a reminder about my insurance that also put me in mind of penalty points. That too could provide an excellent example if one slipped in a sheet of paper describing the 31 new penalty point offences. I have seen no advertisements in any national, local or Sunday newspapers outlining the 31 penalty point offences and only the usual statements that they will be introduced from 1 April. That is totally wrong and comes from a Department that is trying to market road safety effectively. It is insulated by spin doctors and public relations experts but seemingly cannot advertise the relevant information.

While wishing Gay Byrne well in his position, I deplore the attitude and approach of driving testers, who are guaranteed overtime to clear waiting lists and yet have not agreed to contracting out work to ease a backlog of over 400,000 people waiting for a test. It is wrong in this day and age that any group should stop that from happening and block effective safety on the roads.