Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael)

The Vision Zero project aims to eliminate road deaths by 2050. We are coming into the time of year when, unfortunately, there are a lot more road crashes and fatalities. Mary Ward's name was etched into history back in 1869 when her death in Ireland was recorded as the first road fatality in the world. The explanation in the record was "road death". Since then, we have had a long litany of such deaths. We need a debate in this House, not just about highlighting visibility and small measures but looking also at the bigger picture. Vision Zero accepts humans will make mistakes but the design of our road system and our laws are where we need to focus in tackling those minor errors. I am calling for that debate to happen, if possible.I know some of my colleagues mentioned this already but a recent report by the faculty of paediatricians in the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland highlighted falls from e-scooters leading to brain injuries. These two issues are related because I believe we need a lot more enforcement on our roads. We especially need a lot more enforcement when it comes to e-scooters. At this time of year, more of these e-scooters will be purchased. There are some startling figures, but presentation of traumatic brain injuries for people over 16 has doubled since we introduced legislation about the legal use of e-scooters. That is something we need to have a conversation about in this House as well. One of the doctors involved in this report is urging parents not to buy e-scooters for their children this Christmas. Children under 16 are not permitted to operate or be carried as a passenger on an e-scooter. I do not believe there is strong enough enforcement on that. I hope that does not relate to the lack of gardaí around the country as well. All of these things could be brought into a road safety debate.