Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

I agree with Senator Fitzgerald and others regarding road safety. The manner in which Gay Byrne, the respected chairman of the authority, has been treated and passed from Billy to Jack and the fact that scant attention has been paid to the serious work undertaken by him and his board are disgraceful. I hope this will not come to his resignation and that the issue of speed cameras can be resolved speedily, but a solution does not seem to be on the horizon. However, if he does resign it will be a clear sign of the Government's failure.

Sadly, some among the increasing number of foreign drivers on our roads may have defective vehicles. I agree with Senator Ellis's proposal for the Garda to be given the power to remove defective vehicles from the road. We should not allow someone from this or any other state on our roads if he or she has not been tested. Given the increasing volume of traffic, allowing people who are unused to driving on the left side of the road to drive without being tested will put more lives at risk.