Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

Eight years ago, the chief executive of the NRA told the Joint Committee on Transport that the speed limit on the N11 and the Arklow bypass would be raised to 70 mph, which would now be 120 km/h. That needs to be done. In most cases, gardaí are taking the soft option of shooting fish in a barrel.

Recently, I was travelling by road in Britain and over a journey of a few hundred miles I averaged a speed of 104 km/h. In this country one would be lucky to average 60 km/h but the hidden cost of that to our economy is enormous. Drivers who travel at 40 mph are having a huge impact on that cost and constitute a major road hazard. Something will have to be done. I do not know if Ireland has a higher proportion of bad drivers compared to other countries, but in other jurisdictions people travel at the speed limit. A law needs to be introduced specifically to target people who hold up 20 or 30 vehicles behind them. I urge the Minister to examine that problem.