Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising the matter on the Adjournment. I am speaking on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, who regrets that he is unable to be present due to other business. The Minister shares the Senator's concern about these incidents of anti-social driving behaviour and the impact they have on local communities. On behalf of the Minister, I assure the Senator that the level of road traffic enforcement is high throughout the country and that effective roads policing is central to the Garda policing plan. Enforcement activities are focused on the main causes of deaths and serious injury on the roads and members of An Garda Síochána use planned and unplanned checkpoints to detect breaches of a range of road traffic and transport legislation. Effective roads policing has been a critical component in the success of the current road safety strategy and the substantial reduction we have seen in road traffic fatalities during recent years. This emphasis in policing strategy will continue in future.

As far as the particular incidents described by the Senator are concerned, the Minister has been informed by the Garda authorities that the activity referred to occurs, as the Senator pointed out, on a stretch of the N54 and A3 that traverses County Fermanagh. Responsibility for road safety enforcement on that stretch of road rests with the PSNI. On behalf of the Minister, I assure the House that An Garda Síochána monitors traffic and performs static checkpoints at strategic locations on the portion of the road that is in the State. The incidents in question are of great concern and, the Minister understands, can include occasions when traffic is stopped on the stretch of road and law-abiding motorists are prevented from proceeding while individuals perform dangerous driving manoeuvres before gatherings of spectators.

In light of the seriousness of these incidents and the particular geographical circumstances, there is close collaboration between An Garda Síochána and the PSNI, with joint operations conducted to target these anti-social driving practices. The Minister understands that there has been positive feedback with respect to these joint operations and their deterrent impact and that the Garda authorities and the PSNI have been proactive with regard to road safety enforcement measures in this area and its surrounds. The Garda authorities have assured the Minister that these operations will continue to be prioritised in the future. Further, the Minister assures the House that An Garda Síochána and the PSNI maintain ongoing close liaison with local public representatives on both sides of the Border in respect of this matter, including local joint policing committees.

A delegation of local public representatives met the North-South Ministerial Council joint secretariat last year, but the Senator will appreciate that what is at issue is principally an operational policing matter and, accordingly, police co-operation on the ground is important. The Minister has been assured that this is taking place. Specifically, the Commissioner has assured the Minister that these joint operations to combat and disrupt the behaviour concerned will continue to be prioritised. Naturally, I will share the Senator's concerns on the matter with the Minister as soon as I meet him. As the Senator rightly pointed out, it is an issue of jurisdiction, but I am unsure whether that question is easily solved.