Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

What should have been a watershed in efforts to improve road safety has degenerated into a chaotic and shambolic event. Is this the best the Government can do on road safety? There is an urgent need for the Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, to come into this House and explain why he was about to criminalise 120,000 drivers with provisional licences. He is covering up his significant failures on drink-driving, people driving uninsured and speeding. Like many others in this House, when I was driving home last Thursday listening to the Minister making these announcements on radio, I am sure drivers, either with provisional licences or not, were overtaking me at speed.

The Minister has failed utterly in two years to act on road safety. He should come into the House and explain himself rather than making the U-turn he did at the weekend on what was supposed to be Government policy. That is a shambles.

I also wish to raise the matter of child care. For the most part I agree with Senator Mary M. White, but I disagree with her indication that the Minister's proposals are first class. Too many people in Government are driving around with a first-class service, but the Government's proposals for child care are not first class.