Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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579. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if the RSA is planning on making changes with regard to hands-free kits in cars, in particular in buses and coaches; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28103/16]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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​The law currently makes it an offence to hold a mobile phone while driving, and to use hands-free devices to send texts or emails while driving. There is a wider issue, however, of the risk of driver distraction caused by electronic communications devices in general and the proliferation of devices and apps has made this a growing problem. I believe that there is a need to address this in a comprehensive way, and it involves two aspects.

The first, and perhaps most important, is driver education.  People need to be aware of the serious risks posed by distraction, and to avoid risky behaviour which could cause distraction with potentially lethal consequences. Making drivers aware of the risks is one of the matters which the Road Safety Authority, in its role of public information and education on road safety, is addressing on an ongoing basis. The second question is how to address this in law. The General Scheme of a Road Traffic Bill which was considered in pre-legislative scrutiny in 2015 contained proposals to deal with electronic devices. The discussion at the time was very useful, not least because it exposed how difficult it is to frame appropriate legislation in this area which would both capture current problems and be, in as far as possible, future-proofed. As a result of the discussions at that time, the Road Traffic Bill 2016 as initiated does not contain proposals in this area. My Department has since discussed this matter with the RSA and the Gardaí, but the priority has been work on the current Bill. I look forward to addressing the issue of electronic devices in future legislation.