Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)

Senator Paddy Burke referred to the Road Safety Bill and I hope to deal with some of the issues he raised in that regard later in my contribution. Road safety is about two things — first, bringing forward policy initiatives and legislating for them as necessary and, second, enforcement. The road safety authority is being established to oversee the delivery of key road safety initiatives. Initially, it was intended to name it the Driver Testing and Standards Authority, which was to deliver driver licensing and driver testing services.

In July 2005, however, the Government decided to assign a range of additional road safety functions to the new body, thereby creating the road safety authority. That is the reason for the Bill before the House today. The road safety authority will be directly responsible for road safety promotional work. This work has been carried out to date by the National Safety Council. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the council for the work it has done over the last eight years or so in educating people, through television, radio and the newspapers, about driving behaviour and the consequences of breaking the law.

The authority will have the legislative and financial muscle to co-ordinate and advance the road safety agenda. The remit of the authority will be critical, be it through formulating strategies, advising the Government and testing drivers and vehicles. I noted the Minister's and Senator Burke's comments about the testing of drivers. A total of 177,000 people are waiting to do the driving test at present. Some 260,000 people have provisional driving licences and the majority of them have yet to apply for a driving test. The Minister cleared up the misconception that 410,000 provisional licence holders are on the roads without having undergone the driving test. This is not the case. In 2005, approximately 45% of applicants were undergoing the test for at least the second time.

The overall pass rate for driving tests in 2005 was 53.6%, with the pass rate for first time candidates at 51.5% and for non-first time candidates at 56.1%. The Minister also stated that the number of Irish drivers relying on a provisional licence is far too high at 17%. It certainly is. The legislation before us is the way forward. It will put one body in control of all these matters.

The continuance of the backlog for driving tests represents a potential threat to road safety. It is unacceptable that people on provisional licences, who have failed the driving test, continue to drive. The Minister also addressed the fact that anybody can set up a driving school in the country at present. The legislation will deal with this through the establishment of a register of driving instructors. However, the vast majority of driving instructors currently operating are doing a good job. They will be allowed to continue their work until the register is established.

I note from the Minister's figures that almost 50% of those who sit the driving test fail it. Something is seriously wrong with that. Either they are dreadfully bad drivers or the test is too hard or not relevant. How many of those drivers fail the theory test? I suspect a high percentage of them pass the theory test and then fail the driving test. Basic training should be provided for motorcyclists. Many of the people driving motorcycles at present are not capable of handling them so there should be basic training for them.

The authority will also be responsible for road safety research, data collection and driver education. I am familiar with the Youthreach programme in County Cavan. In the three Youthreach centres in Cavan it is compulsory for the trainees to complete the theory test. It should also be compulsory in schools and other training institutions attended by young people. That would contribute to safer driving.

The authority will be responsible for promotion and awareness of road safety in general. I welcome the establishment of the board and the appointment of Mr. Gay Byrne as chairman. I do not know him personally and I did not particularly like his radio programme but women in this country seem to love him.