Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will not take up anything like that amount of time. I welcome the Minister to the House. Clearly, this Bill has been thrashed out at excruciating levels in the Lower House, and I do not propose or anticipate that there would be a similar filibustering in this House. At least, it will not come from the Fianna Fáil side because we support the Bill. In fact, it was Fianna Fáil in government that initially brought in strict regulations that addressed the question of drink-driving. We are cognisant that drinking and driving are incompatible and on that we are at one with the Minister. It is regrettable that the Clancy amendment, which was agreed, I think, in December 2016, concerning unaccompanied learner drivers, has taken so long to come before us in the shape of a Bill. In the intervening period, as the Minister will know, I understand 11 deaths related to unlicensed drivers have occurred. I do not know why there was a delay but it was very regrettable.

I have been podcasting my local radio station, Radio Kerry, all morning. The big issue there seems to be not so much the new regulations on alcohol consumption but the question of learner drivers and how the Bill will affect family life. I will not go down the old road of "rural Ireland" and so on, but there is a big difference between a young person who has an L plate in Dublin and a fella who has an L plate in Kerry and who may have to travel 25 to 30 miles and back again for work every day.There is a big difference between a young person driving with an L plate in Dublin and a young person driving with an L plate in Kerry. The latter may have to travel between 25 and 30 miles every day to and back from work. With this Bill, that individual will have to be accompanied by a parent, a sibling or a good friend who is a qualified driver to work and home again in the evening. That is not a proper basis for normal living. The Minister will agree the crux is the delay and backlog in driver testing opportunities for young people. This has to be addressed as a matter of urgency. People want to qualify and be licensed to drive. We expect there will be some waiting period bur if we are going to give credibility to the Bill, we will have to work on the supply side and ensure young people have the chance to qualify fully at the earliest opportunity. I hope getting all and every additional revenues required to bring this about will be a priority for the Minister.

Much controversy has arisen over the debate on this Bill in the Lower House. My two Kerry colleagues, Deputies Danny and Michael Healy-Rae, were to the fore in those debates. Whereas we do not agree on everything, I must say the media did not treat them fairly on this issue. It was unfortunate that the Minister found himself at loggerheads with both of them over an ongoing period which personalised the debate to a certain extent. They are solidly rooted in their constituency and represent the views of their constituents remarkably well. While I may not necessarily agree with everything they say, they are putting up a strong rearguard action for the rights of rural dwellers. The positive element for the Minister to take out of this is that he is getting support and we must put an end to drink-driving. However, we have to give fair play to the young learner driver in a rural area. He must have every access to allow him to qualify to drive to ensure he is compliant with regulations and can go to his place of work and back without inflicting a significant burden on his parents or friends.

Fianna Fáil will support the Bill.