Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

Its role as a prescribed organisation, along with others, needs to be monitored. The influence of such organisations on the process is not always positive, although they do carry out some good work.

I call for yet another debate on transport and road safety in particular. I join Senator Quinn who stated that we know the problems and asked why we are not dealing with them. Although speed cameras on the roads may have a role, if we persist in putting such cameras and checkpoints on roads where one could land a jumbo jet, we are not going to do anything to prevent the deaths of people like the eight killed over last weekend.

If we are honest, we know these deaths are of people of a certain age and occur at certain hours of the morning. They do not occur on wide dual carriageways or motorways. I have nonetheless been told that the cameras we see cannot function on the roads where these accidents occur. We can be busy fools and feel we are making a financial contribution to the State with speeding fines etc., but if we are truly to tackle this issue, we must be more draconian and focused in our measures. There should be a debate on the matter. If those who are Members of this House in five years time are to reflect on a reduction in deaths, we must take such steps.