Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome an tAire to the Seanad. I am delighted to be here and hope that this Road Traffic Bill passes. I welcome the members of the Irish Road Victims Association, IRVA, Ms Margaret Kavanagh and her colleagues, who have all experienced first hand the heartbreak, trauma and pain of the tragic loss of their loved ones.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this amendment Bill, which I will support. It is designed to change the penalty for those found to be driving with blood alcohol levels above 50 mg and below 80 mg. This is already an offence for which the penalty is a fine along with three penalty points. The Bill does not propose to change the legal limits for drink-driving. Only the penalty would change, which will include disqualification. It should be a zero-alcohol level. I support the Bill because it sends a message that drink-driving is wrong, dangerous and unacceptable, which we have been educated about by the IRVA and the RSA. We have become aware of the danger that driving on our roads after drinking poses. We have a poor record in this State for deaths on our roads. We have come a long way in the past decade. However, there has been a worrying trend in the past few years with the number of annual deaths rising due to road traffic. The numbers are creeping up. Sadly, over the past several years, the number of people dying on our roads is increasing. There are many reasons for this, including poor roads, careless drivers, phone technology, drink-driving and drug-driving, and the slashing of the Garda traffic corps.

In recent years, drink-driving has become less acceptable. We need to work towards a society where drink-driving is universally condemned but we are not there yet. This was clear in recent months with the attitude of some public representatives whose statements were unbelievable and dangerous, to say the least. Some Members have been jumping up and down over this Bill claiming they are concerned about protecting rural Ireland. A Bill which seeks to impose harsher punishments on those caught drinking and driving is not an attack on rural life. Indeed, those most at risk of being killed in collisions where alcohol is a factor are those living in rural areas. I am sympathetic to those living in rural and isolated regions who do not have adequate access to transport links. It is a disgrace that 93,000 households do not have access to public transport, and I have raised it on several occasions.

The Bill underwent pre-legislative scrutiny at the transport committee. That process was hijacked by some committee members, as well as non-committee members who oppose the legislation. Those on both sides of the argument appeared before the committee. The only interest group to give evidence against the legislation was, surprise surprise, the vintners' group. Its reason for having an interest in this is obvious. To my colleagues who claim they oppose these matters because of rural decline, I say that if the best method they can come up with to address the issue is to argue that rural people should receive a softer punishment for drink-driving, I despair. It is quite disturbing that elected representatives care more about the votes in their constituencies than their constituents' lives and safety. Politicians need to show leadership and do the right thing. They are many other measures we can introduce to help people in the rural areas including transport links and expansion of the transport network. People are entitled to be able to travel safely and efficiently. This Bill's measures will not solve any of the problems faced by those who do not have access to adequate services, but it will help to reduce the incidence of drink-driving.

In 2007, there were 1,200 members of the traffic corps. Will the Minister indicate how many there are now? Many people drive from home and from pub to pub, in rural areas in particular, knowing they will never come across a checkpoint.This is a deterrent and we need to act to increase those numbers. I call on the Minister to roll out measures, not just for the three weeks of Christmas, but which are sustained throughout the year. I will support Bill and I hope the Minister will take my comments on board. The Bill is a further step towards road safety and the saving of lives and I wish it well on its passage through the Oireachtas.