In the Seanad on 30 November 2005, speaking on a Fine Gael private members motion on road safety, I said:

I add my words of praise for the work of Eddy Shaw, the former chairman of the National Safety Council. He resigned last week because of what I believe was his utter frustration at his inability to persuade the Government to do what he believed had to be done.

I had the experience some years ago of meeting a man on the floor of my supermarket who made a criticism. When I questioned his criticism, he said he recognises these things. The words he used were “I am a quality inspector in the construction industry.” I asked him was this the reason he noticed standards were slipping, to which he replied “Yes”. I asked him what was the most important element in ensuring that standards are reached. He said it is “if the boss thinks it is important”.

I came back from Australia last week and I often travel to France. There has been a dramatic drop in the number of road deaths in Victoria and France and the reason for the improvement is that the boss thought the issue was important. The President of France gave it priority and said he would put this issue at the top of his list. He said he would ensure the number of road deaths was reduced and that has happened.

We know what we have to do to address this issue. We do not need to debate it further. If motorists know they will be caught, they will behave on the road. I often travel North and I refer to the behaviour of motorists on either side of the Border. The drivers of southern cars north of the Border and the northern cars travelling to County Louth know they will not be caught for bad road behaviour or, if they are, that the penalty points system would not apply to them. It would be simple to address this matter. We know we can do that and we need to do so.

When the penalty points system was introduced the number of road deaths dropped dramatically from 40 per month to 20 per month. That improvement in the position lasted only four months but for that period our record was the best in Europe. Then motorists began to realise that they would not be caught for breaches in that respect. As a nation, we took our eye off the ball and our leaders, irrespective of which party or parties were in Government, did not make this issue a priority. If motorists know they will be caught for such breaches, they will behave. Whether the breach is in respect of alcohol consumption or driving at speed, we have the technology to do something about this.

In addressing the issue of driving at speed, I am a great believer in using technology and in erecting speed cameras throughout the country. It would not cost money in the long term because it would be a good investment. It would save lives and save the economy a great deal of money. We should cover the country in terms of the erection of such speed cameras. The investment would be worthwhile. Motorists would know they would be caught for breaches of the law. Speed cameras can identify what happens on our roads and the motorists who drive at speed. The use of such technology would result in what happened two and a half years ago when we reduced the number of deaths on our roads.

It is in the hands of the Government to address this issue. It is in the hands of the Minister of State to say he will push the Government to do this. If the Taoiseach were to give this issue priority there would be an improvement in the position. We do not need new ideas, strategies or promises. All we need is for the Government to deliver on the promises it made so many times in the past. I repeat what I said at the outset. We know what we have to do if we are to cut number of deaths on the road. All we have to do is actually do it. However, this issue needs to be given priority and determination and somebody at the top needs to say, “This is my priority and this is what the Government will do”. We do not have to wait for a new Government to take office to address this issue. It could be done next week. I welcome this debate because it is a way of making sure that this matter it brought to the top of the agenda and to the forefront of our minds to ensure that we do something about it.