Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Bill and I hope it has a safe passage through the House. We have come a long way on road safety in seven years. I remember in 2003 when I was appointed chairman of the committee dealing with enterprise, trade and small business, which carried out an investigation on insurance. Part of this dealt with road safety, as at the time deaths on our roads amounted to approximately 450 per year, with thousands of people maimed for life; such events were completely unacceptable.

The deliberations of the committee I chaired at that time took in meetings with senior civil servants in the Departments involved with justice, transport and education, and I asked for their assistance. There were three gentlemen who were magnificent, along with their Departments, in their contribution. The Ministers of the day gave assistance to the committee on the interim recommendations made each year between 2004 and 2007. We brought in representatives of insurance companies as well as others involved in the insurance industry, asking them about doing business in Ireland. The most senior underwriter in Ireland at that time stated in evidence that Ireland was not a safe place in which to do business, which was an alarming statement we had to take at face value. Returning to the committee within three months they said they urgently required four Bills to be passed by the Houses of the Oireachtas, and the Taoiseach of the day, Deputy Bertie Ahern, gave approval for that under the various Ministers in the three Departments I outlined.

The Personal Injuries Assessment Board was set up and it has been of significant assistance to those who are unfortunate enough to have accidents. It has helped to speed up claim processes. The Civil Liability and Courts Act forces those who make a claim to give a sworn affidavit to that effect and the penalty points system was also set up, which overnight transformed respect for the law and put fear back into it.

Health and safety at work was also tackled because the construction business, which had 300,000 employed in it, did not have regulations that were strict enough. That led to fatalities on various sites but that position has improved enormously in the intervening years. The dedicated traffic corps of the Garda Síochána at the time amounted to 525 gardaí but I am pleased to be able to report to the House that it now has a full complement of 1,250 gardaí doing terrific work right across the country. That was a recommendation from our committee.

The son of one of my cousins was involved in a very serious accident three nights ago. The victim is 19 years old and he had an operation lasting six and half hours yesterday. He is very seriously injured because he was not wearing a seat belt at the time of his accident. We all remember when we got our first cars and there were many hidden dangers because nobody thought an accident could occur.

The committee conducted research in Tennessee, an area which has seen a successful programme to enhance respect for the law. One idea coming from this was to link ignition of a car to the fastening of a safety belt. From the manufacturers of cars we understand this small piece of technology only costs €40, and if that is the case I strongly suggest to the Minister of State and her officials that this idea be considered in Ireland. We were the leaders in the world in banning smoking in certain public places and with such a young population - 50% of the people are under 40 - we could encourage manufacturers to implement the idea for the sake of €40. For the life of me I do not know why insurance companies do not insist on this as it could save thousands of lives.

I welcome the mandatory alcohol testing legislation. The committee of which I was a member strongly recommended that there would be random testing for substance or drug abuse as well as alcohol abuse. I know accidents are not planned but just happen. All we can do as legislators is assist the Garda Síochána and everybody involved in the emergency services to try to help those who are using our roads daily to have more respect and fear for the law.