Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate everyone's remarks and support for the Bill. I acknowledge the presence of Deputy Devlin and his guests in the Public Gallery.

To speak to Senator Murphy's contribution, much of what he set out contained excellent points in terms of the 1,800 speeding offences that occurred last weekend. It is shocking. That is 1,800 potential collisions and areas of high risk, where people were risking their lives, the lives of the passengers in their vehicles and the lives of others, including vulnerable road users like cyclists. We saw that culture of complete and total recklessness continue last weekend. It is only when we take particular figures from a particular weekend that we fully see this context. The figures from last weekend, however, only scratch the surface of the recklessness we see on our roads. As was said, there are consequences for families, in respect of lives lost, families broken and tragedies persisting for evermore. This is about people showing complete and total recklessness in their vehicles and that is why strengthened enforcement will play a key role in this area.

The issue of penalty points reform was also raised and the importance of this endeavour. This Bill will absolutely make a difference in terms of targeting recklessness. Those who commit multiple offences in the one act will now receive a greater punishment for them. We can compare this with the original 2002 Act that capped the number of penalty points at the figure associated with the most severe offence. The change will make a difference in this regard. Reference was also made to speed limits and the discretion allowed to local authorities to intervene in the context of schools and other locations.

Senator Moynihan raised important points in respect of vulnerable road users and concerns around driver behaviour. We have done a significant amount of work with the Road Safety Authority on studying drive behaviour post-Covid and how this has deteriorated across the board. The Senator also spoke about the impact of eight cyclists having been killed last year and the need for improved enforcement. We recognise the need for proper segregation in this regard and for better infrastructure in our urban centres, villages and towns. The €360 million being ring-fenced specifically for active travel infrastructure is making and will continue to make a significant difference in protecting vulnerable road users.

Additionally, we have a great deal of work ongoing in terms of the wider public awareness strategy in respect of safety. This is also the case for cycling safety. As I said, the legislation will increase the penalties for drivers committing multiple offences. The BusConnects infrastructure in urban areas will also improve the cycling infrastructure in our cities. This will also involve significant investment in newer technology for use in respect of road traffic offences. I know this has been a priority for many people in the cycling community and for those who want to see improved enforcement in this context.

Moving to Senator Currie's contribution, she spoke, like Senator Murphy, about the very worrying statistics we saw from last weekend. Nearly 1,800 people were speeding, 175 people were drink- or drug-driving and many other people were using their mobile phones. In this context, I refer to the importance of behavioural change and the need to have an evidence base. This is why the Road Safety Authority is and has been conducting extensive qualitative engagement on how it shapes its campaigns and educational engagement with specific communities.It also has a clear metric and focus in its marketing campaigns, specifically looking at newer social media and targeting the more at-risk groups so that the message is directed at those who are more likely to be involved in high-risk behaviour.

There are three areas at the core of road safety. Educational awareness is essential, and that is why we approved €3.6 million in additional spending last October on specific awareness campaigns for the Road Safety Authority. We are developing phase 2 of the road safety strategy, specifically looking at the evidence we have seen in the past two years. There is a very clear metric- and data-driven approach by the Road Safety Authority in how it conducts its campaigns. Some of the feedback we have had, which people often raise, is that people want to see more of the shock ads, especially on traditional media. They have not been seeing as much as them. They have an important component for marketing and awareness, but actually the qualitative evidence shows that it is a combination of different types of awareness campaigns that will actually have an impact on someone. It is quite interesting to get the wider feedback from the behavioural experts the authority has engaged with and who are fully involved in how it shapes the awareness and the road safety message. That complements educational awareness, which is key.

There is also the need for improved and strengthened enforcement. We have been working with the Minister for Justice on the issue of additional funding. I welcome the fact that the Minister, Deputy McEntee, secured additional funding for speed van hours, which have gone from 7,500 hours to 9,000 hours. Obviously, we have ongoing engagement with the Garda Commissioner on the need to see the improved deployment of and numbers in our roads policing units, which have a visible impact.

The third aspect is engineering, which includes the junctions, the dangerous bends and the need for wider investment in our road network, particularly in the midlands and the west that maybe have not seen the uplift in investment that other parts of the country have seen in the context of our motorway network. We can see the specific issues we have in the west and north west with road deaths over recent years.

Regarding the questions, Senators raised important points about trauma care. This is not specifically in the Department, but there is an awareness of a very good report conducted by the RCSI with the Department of Health on upgrading trauma care and emergency medicine. I will have to engage with the Minister for Health about where that is in terms of implementation. Parts of the UK have a more advanced system of trauma response, which has an evidence base. As I said, I will have to engage with the Department of Health on where the recommendations from the RCSI report are, which recommendations looked at strengthening trauma centres throughout the country so that there are better levels of specialist 24-7 care and specific trauma centres, centralising that, and improving the wider emergency response so that people can get to the trauma centre more quickly. While we can have a specific on-the-ground trauma response to road traffic accidents, it is also important for us to have on-call centres of excellence that can respond to a complex road traffic incident and the complexity that arises from the need for vascular surgeons, orthopaedic surgeons and others to be in place 24-7 to save a life. That is a complex area, but I know extensive work has been done on it with the Department of Health, the RCSI and others. I will have to check with the Minister for Health about where it is at.

It is rare I would know the specific local roads people refer to, but I am aware of this one and I can go into it. I have engaged with some of the communities, as has the Senator, about the concerns with the speed limit on the Porterstown Road. It is important to say we are setting national default speed limits, but in the by-laws and the current legislative framework, there is discretion for local authorities and councillors to revise limits and introduce special speed limits. There is an ability for a council, following a speed limit review with councillors, to reduce the speed limit. I agree that the Porterstown Road is a good example, where it should be set at 50 km/h and possibly less than that on certain parts of it, such as, as the Senator mentioned, Somerton Park, Porterstown Park and St. Catherine’s Park, which is further on. It is all that wider network near and on the Porterstown Road. There are, especially around Westmanstown, some very dangerous bends where I have seen accidents and I can understand the need for a special speed limit. That will not change in the context of this national framework. What we are doing is setting a safer default baseline, which will mean there will have to be a better justification for revising it upwards. Regarding revising it downwards, the council can do that in the context of the speed limit review. Discretion will be set out in the guidelines. Similarly, for Littlepace, there is excessive speeding and, again, the same principle applies. As you go from Ongar towards the N3 and through Littlepace, and as the road goes down slightly, it is very dangerous. We have all received that feedback. As the Senator will know, there is wider investment with Fingal County Council on better active travel infrastructure for Barnhill, Ongar and the wider Kellystown area in order that we can protect vulnerable road users. The OPW operates a separate system outside local authorities in the context of speed limits, so the Minister of State, Deputy O’Donovan, would be better placed to respond to the Senator’s questions about the limit in the Phoenix Park, on which I have had feedback as well.

As I said, I appreciate all the points Senators have raised, as well as the support from colleagues in the Seanad. We will try to hold Committee and Remaining Stages very soon after Easter. I thank my officials for their extensive work on this, particularly the focus on mandatory drug testing. Senator Murphy mentioned the huge issues with drug-driving we have seen, along with addressing and tackling that reckless driver in this legislation by making sure multiple offences are punished, as well as dealing with the fragmented and inconsistent set of speed limits we have nationally. Setting a safer and more consistent default baseline will really make a difference as it is implemented during the year. I appreciate the support of the House and I look forward to being back for the remaining Stages in the coming weeks.