Tom Shehan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I must compliment the Minister of State on a very comprehensive reply. He is stating more or less what I am stating myself. As I said, it is not that there is a lack of supply. I forgot to mention the ploughing championships, which are very good in this regard, but I referred to the schools initiative and so on. None the less, the gent I spoke to had three high-visibility vests at home. The Minister of State spoke about personal responsibility but this is where it lies. The point is how we highlight this.

Again, the term "vulnerable user" is used to refer to a cyclist or pedestrian. However, I believe the motorist is the most vulnerable person on the road now because, God forbid it should happen, but if a driver is unlucky enough, in the dark of night, to hit a pedestrian who does not have a high-visibility vest, one can be sure it will be fatal if the car's speed is over 25 mph. The point I want to stress about the vulnerable road user is that the person driving the car will have to live with that for the rest of his or her life.

I understand that by making it compulsory, we would be accused of making this a nanny state. However, anything that saves lives should be done. The resources, in particular the high-visibility jackets, are available and there is no question mark in that regard. However, is there anything we can do to make people wear them? I have been told by gardaí that they often hand them out to pedestrians when they are on the beat.