Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for his contribution, particularly as it related to the strategy. There is no doubt in people's minds that there are three principal elements that lead to road deaths. If action is taken in respect of speed, alcohol and seat belts, the number of deaths will be greatly reduced.

The Minister of State has responsibility for European Affairs. I recently met Commissioner Verheugen, who is responsible for European integration. I offered to make a deal with him, the terms of which were that people in Britain and Ireland would switch to using two-pin plugs if the rest of Europe would agree to drive on the left-hand side of the road. This gave rise to a discussion and someone accompanying the Commissioner stated that they were in Sweden in 1968 when the switch from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right was made. The change was made at 5 a.m. on a particular day and a speed limit of 30 km/h was introduced for the following month. Not one death occurred during the month in question because the speed limit was enforced and people focused on respecting it. Perhaps we should switch from the left to the right and vice versa each month and thereby reduce the number of road deaths dramatically.

If we want to spot a trend in the level of road deaths, we must step back from concentrating on monthly figures and examine them over a much longer period. Even when things are getting better, there will still be a month when the figures are horrific. This can easily lead us to the false conclusion that things are getting worse rather than better. The Minister of State provided us with some interesting figures. In my opinion, we should examine a full year's figures before drawing any conclusions about trends. I am a believer in what is called the moving annual total. Under this, one examines the figures for the most recent 12 months. Each month one adds the latest month's figure and deducts the corresponding figure for the previous year. This produces an annual figure that is updated each month. As a result, it is always up to date.

If we consider the current situation from this perspective, the news is, as the Minister of State indicated, fairly good. In the 12 months to the end of October, there were just 330 deaths on our roads. Awful as that figure is, it is a definite and a worthwhile improvement on the figures for recent years. If the remaining two months of this year just kept pace with the level of last year — in other words, if there were no further improvement between now and the end of the year — our total for 2007 would be the lowest for almost 50 years. We would, therefore, have returned to levels not seen in this country since the end of the 1950s when Ireland was a very different place. Clearly, we are doing something right. It is vital that we recognise what this is and that we build on it in order that we do not let the advantage slip away.

The change in the past 12 months has been a simple one. The introduction of random breath testing has brought about a change in behaviour because people are beginning to realise they have a much greater chance of being caught if they drink and drive. The same pattern emerged in 2003 with the introduction of penalty points. For a brief few months, people believed there was a large likelihood of being caught and they changed their behaviour accordingly. They changed back again, just as smartly, when they realised that, even despite penalty points, they still had a large chance of getting away with it because the drink driving laws were not being effectively or rigorously enforced. Random breath testing has made a far greater impression on members of the public and, to date, they remain convinced that the game has shifted against them. That is why it is crucial that the standard of enforcement should be fully maintained and even improved on because if people again start to feel they can get away with it, they will adjust their behaviour accordingly.

The new road safety strategy is crammed full of ideas to improve road safety. There is, paradoxically, a danger in this because it might lead to our efforts being diffused over too many areas, particularly when it is clear that only two actions really count, namely, the extent to which we enforce the law and the extent to which we educate people to respect it. Without effective action in respect of these two elements, all the rest will be a waste of time. For example, a great deal of useless effort is expended on the issue of the number of unqualified learner drivers on our roads. We discuss these people as if we were talking about staffing our hospitals with doctors straight off the dole queue. The fact is that the overwhelming majority of these individuals are perfectly good drivers. They will not become any better when they possess a piece of paper which states they passed the official test. All the huffing and puffing about this issue will not result in our roads being made measurably safer.

The issue relating to unqualified drivers is a red herring. The last thing we want at this stage are red herrings of any kind. Road safety is, at the core, a very simple matter. We do our case no good at all by complicating it unnecessarily. We must educate people to use the roads more responsibly. In the meantime, we must ensure they respect the law by convincing them they will incur dire consequences if they flout it.

I would like a public attitude that refuses to accept road deaths, even at the levels envisaged in the road safety strategy, to develop. At present, we have an average of just over 28 road deaths every month. If we reduced the figure to 20 per month, we would be among the best in Europe. However, when we reach that level — I hope we do so long before the expiry date of the new road strategy — we must not stop. A total of 240 deaths per year from road accidents is far too high to be ever acceptable. We must persevere until the number of deaths is reduced to an absolute minimum. The latter should be measured in dozens per year rather than in hundreds.

I take this opportunity to welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Michael Ahern, by whom we have just been joined.

I welcome the new road safety strategy. However, we must change people's mindsets. Some years ago in France, the then Prime Minister, Mr. Sarkozy, stated that he would make a difference by reducing the number of road deaths. He focused the attention of the country on this matter and this led to a dramatic reduction. His achievement was to establish a change of attitude or mindset among the people of France. We must also change people's mindsets and I am of the view that we have an opportunity of being successful in that regard.

Senator Ellis referred to speed cameras. I am a great believer in technology and speed cameras. A thoroughly modern system involves the use of hundreds or thousands of speed cameras. Everyone would know the location of these cameras. Under this type of system, one's licence plate is identified once and then again approximately 5 km or 10 km further on. People on the ground are not needed to operate these cameras. One can be informed that one left Balbriggan at a certain time and reached Swords at a time which meant that one must have broken the speed limit on the way. It would, therefore, be no use to people to slow down on reaching camera sites and then speed up in between them. I understand that approximately 1,800 speed cameras are needed throughout the country. If we put them in place, it will encourage people to change their behaviour. That is the answer.

The two matters on which we must focus are education and enforcement. If we take action in respect of them, we will overcome this challenge.