Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

While I largely welcome the Road Traffic Bill 2009, I am disappointed, like Senators O'Reilly and Healy Eames, that the Government has not taken an initiative to help rural areas in which there is no access to public transport which may be affected by this legislation. Will the Minister examine some ways of assisting them? The introduction of various measures such as reductions in VRT and tax breaks to assist publicans to provide transport in their localities has been suggested. I hope the Minister will examine these suggestions favourably, as they would greatly relieve the problems experienced in these areas so eloquently described by Senator O'Reilly.

I participated in the visit of the Joint Committee on Transport to Australia, the world leader when it comes to road safety. The recommendations made in our report have been implemented by both the Minister for Transport and the Road Safety Authority. I have an issue, however, with unmarked Garda cars on transport duties. Having more marked cars would be a much better approach. When drivers see Garda cars on the road, they tend automatically to slow down or check their driving behaviour. In Australia the authorities did away with the unmarked police car approach and instead there is a visible police presence on the road network. This has led to Australian drivers checking their driving behaviour and patterns.

Another option the Minister should consider is having reduced speed limits in bad weather conditions, similar to the system in place in France where the maximum road speed is 130 km/h in dry weather which is reduced to 110 km/h in wet weather. Ireland should adopt a similar system.

On some roadways one will encounter strong lights on pillars outside houses. In approaching them from a distance a driver will find it difficult to determine from which side of the road the light is coming. Homeowners with such lights outside their homes should be required to place a shield around them to prevent them disorienting oncoming drivers.

In New Zealand street-parking against the flow of traffic is prohibited. Adopting such a rule would help traffic flow in many towns and prevent cars driving out into oncoming traffic.

Section 42 provides for the appointment of traffic wardens and commissioners. Is this going down the road of privatising tests as regards alcohol consumption and the issuing of speeding fines? Section 42(1)(c) states, "Neither the Civil Service Commissioners Act 1956 nor the Civil Service Regulation Act 1956 apply to the position of traffic warden". Who are their superiors? Do they report to their local Garda superintendent? Will they need specialised training in the college in Templemore or provided by private companies? Will the Minister allay some of these concerns, as I believe this is an attempt to privatise some of these services? I am not in favour of outsourcing or privatising alcohol consumption testing or the issuing of speeding fines.