Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Much has been said about Irish Water, some of it a little hysterical. I agree with Senator Conway that Irish Water as an entity will work. It is a whole new structure and utility being established. However, there are serious questions to be asked. We need to tease out the issue of bonuses, which, I think, are obscene. Having said that, if the employees of Irish Water exceed the significant savings to the Exchequer in the region of €2 billion we are being told will be made, which is another issue we need to examine to see whether that figure is for real, I would not have an issue with a bonus system. That would form the basis of a significant debate in the House. I support the call for a debate on all aspects of Irish Water here next week.

Another issue on which I seek a debate in this House in the coming weeks with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, is the increase in road deaths in 2013, which is the first increase since 2005. The figures are still well below the peak of 1997, but the graph is going in the wrong direction. It is worrying that a significant number of the road deaths involved motorcyclists, an increase of almost 70% on the 2012 figure. Of drivers killed, 80% were male and half of them were aged between 16 and 35. Over half of the driver deaths were single-vehicle collisions. Obviously, complacency has got into the system. We are beginning to take it for granted that the graph is going in the right direction, as it had been for the past number of years. We need to refocus on highlighting the issue of road safety. Vehicular condition and drivers possibly not maintaining their vehicles to the standards that they would have in the past because of the economic situation may be an issue and we need to look at the drink-driving and drug-driving areas. A debate in this House on road safety would be appropriate as we start the new year because we want to get back to a position where we start to reduce such deaths significantly again. Any death is a death too many but 190 is an unacceptably high figure.