Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)

On behalf of the Fianna Fáil group I thank the Minister of State for his time in the House on this important legislation. The legislation has been in the offing for some time and no doubt the level of work he, the Minister and their officials have put into it will bear fruit in terms of the adoption of the various road safety strategies the Government has been working on for many months. It is obvious that we hope the level of effort and work that has been done in this regard will bear fruit in terms of dealing with the scourge of death on the roads. I have no doubt that despite this legislation, a greater effort will be required from everyone in society to work to change this country's road use culture. We will not have tackled this major issue until we start to consider the use of the road as a privilege to be used responsibly, rather than as a right. I hope that, over time, the shift in culture and mindset that is needed if we are to save lives on our roads will start to happen as a consequence of the communication with the public that has taken place through various elements of the media, the high-profile appointments which have been made in recent times and the legislation that has been passed in support of the enforcement of road safety.